Thread Types

Epic Threads

First, let me ask you what separates the tales of Lord of the Rings, the storylines of the Elder Scrolls, and the History of Hogwarts, from the stories created by you, the user. At most roleplaying forums, you're limited by the rules and regulations of a site. As are you at this site, except under this special circumstance.

So, what an Epic thread is, is simply a thread where YOU are in charge. The simple rules still apply, don't kill anyone unless they say it's okay, no godmodding, and no using chatspeak in a post. Other then that, an epic thread is about you the writer having control over your own story.

In example, you can start wars, topple civilizations, and if your Death Star is operational, blow up a planet or two. All while following the progress of the 'hero' of the story, your own character. You come up with the storyline, and you drive the thread forward. Of course, since you have free reign to become the next President of Post Apocalyptic America, the thread will be considered independent. That means that things that happen in an Epic thread HAVE NO CONSEQUENCES for other threads. Just because your thread brings about the end of Caesar's Legion, doesn't mean no one else has to worry about Hoover Dam being taken over.

Now of course, you don't want to be the only one posting in your thread. If you were keen on solely writing on your own, I doubt you'd be here. This means other users are allowed to come and go as they please, or even die for your characters cause (since Epic threads are independent.) It works the same way as if you picked up Han Solo and lost Obi Wan, when Noble Team got Noble Six, or when the Fellowship was broken. Now, if you feel your thread has enough users in it already, or you only want so many, just use the standard private or closed tags in your thread name. If you feel someone is 'ruining' your Epic thread, you can politely ask them to leave, and if they don't, let us know and we can work something out.

Now, if it isn't YOUR Epic thread, do not despair. Just like all characters have their own. . . baggage, this doesn't entirely mean you can't bring your own plot twists. We just ask they consist of things that are not required for the plot of the 'main story,' and be more like side quests if you will. After all, if you want to make your own epic tale of courage and sacrifice, you can always start your own Epic thread. We would however ask that you limit one Epic thread, per character, per theme. So you can start a Epic thread in both Elder Scrolls and Fallout, but please don't start two in Fallout with the same character. Also, assuming the authors are okay with it, you can join as many Epic threads as you want.

So, the story is up to the person that starts the thread, our hero (or diabolic villain!) is the authors character, and the companions, or even villains, are other roleplayers willing to help someone in their own journey toward making an Epic story. If you have any further questions about Epic threads, just ask a staff member and we can steer you on the right path if you're interested.

Starting and Maintaining an Epic Thread

There are a number of things you'll need to do to start an Epic thread. Since freeforms are basically up to you anyway, there really isn't a point in starting one there unless you want it to operate the same way.

For themes, the first thing you'll need to do is make sure you have a character. If it's an existing character, put any necessary modifications in the first post of that thread, separated from the post itself by a horizontal rule. If you're making a new character entirely, you can do that in this separation as well.

Other things you need to separate from the first post by the first horizontal rule at the beginning of the thread are a few details of the thread. Just basic things like if combat will be frequent. If there will be items people can acquire, if only certain people can join (like you wouldn't want a sith being a jedi's companion in star wars, as far I can figure,) or how frequent you'd like the posts to be.

Furthermore, don't just wait for people to join. Some will join on their own, but if you want it to get moving, you'll need to ask. Also put a limit on how many people you want in the thread at a time, or if you want a certain posting rotation. If you want enemies or 'antagonists,' put this as well.

Also, so people know it's an Epic thread put an [Epic] tag in the title of the thread. Since this is a single thread, and will most likely travel between areas, it is recommended that you just put it in the main board instead of the subboards, ex. put it in the Tamriel board, instead of the Cyrodiil or High Rock board. If your journey takes you to a different board like Oblivion, then just contact a staff and we'll move it for you as soon as we can.

Since we've covered traveling to different areas, make sure you separate when you travel to different areas, you don't want people thinking you're still in a tavern when actually you've skipped to the next day and now you're in a ship headed for a different planet. You can do this by separating the time and place by using horizontal rules.

Ex. start of a thread -

---

5 miles east of the Shire. . .

Text
Next post
next post

---

five hours later, sitting in on a hill in hobbiton during sunset. . .



Note that most of these are just suggestions, with only labeling the thread as an Epic thread, and having a character sheet somewhere as the requirements. You can run your thread however you want, but if you're a bit confused, these are a great way to help keep things organized and understandable.