Royal Decree Mod Account

PREMISE

Royal Decree: Let There Be Love! (Royal Decree for short) is a panfandom, invite-only fixed-length game. It is a comm-based game with a set schedule and an estimated length of 12 to 14 months. The game is focused on relationship-building in a fantasy setting, in which characters are ICly and OOCly encouraged to foster romance and close relationships.

Characters are invited to the magical realm of Rosavelle by its princess, Their Most Exquisitely Blossoming Calanthe Rosabella Petalia de Amoré (their friends call them Callie!) (they don’t have any friends). Their coronation is on the horizon and soon, Calanthe will be tested by the Everbloom, a magnificent ancient tree at the heart of the kingdom that allows magic to flow freely through the land.

But there's just one problem... this princess of love has never had so much as a crush in their life! Eek!

Determined to find a way to resolve this before the big day, Calanthe does what any sensible royal would do - summon a bunch of strangers from across the multiverse to be their new best friends and royal advisors on love! Freshly isekaied into this lovey-dovey paradise, the princess’s new advisors have been given free housing, fancy titles, and one simple(ish) mission: help Calanthe understand what love is. As you settle into Rosavelle, you’ll help shape the kingdom, embark on magical (and mildly ridiculous) adventures, and maybe even find a little love of your own along the way.

The fate of Rosavelle - and Calanthe's heart - rests in your hands. No pressure!

MECHANICS & SCHEDULE

Royal Decree is primarily a relationship-focused game set in a magical, fantastical world. Players may explore and setting and get into hijinks and there will be moments of heightened drama and stakes, but the overall focus of the game should be on character relationships and emotional stakes over any sort of big scary existential threat.

The game will run on a bimonthly schedule, and asks players to provide approximately 15 comments per month of activity, with AC being processed at the end of each two month period. Each AC period will be called a Season, following the in-universe phases of Calyx, Rosavelle’s moon equivalent;

Fallow (New Moon), Season of Budding, Season of Ripening, Season of Flourish, Full Bloom (Full Moon), Season of Wilting

The game will start at the beginning of the Season of Wilting and endgame will take place at the end of Full Bloom, when Calanthe’s coronation takes place. A second Season of Wilting may also take place as an optional epilogue if player interest/activity permits.

At the start of each season, a Seasonal Update will go live. Seasonal Updates combine OOC intro/CR plotting posts with event previews, world events and weather updates and AC results. Each Season will have its own small-scale goal to achieve or event to participate in but players will also have the freedom to pursue their own explorations of the settings and general shennaniganery as they please.

In addition to the seasonal events, starting from Fallow, there will be a quest board for players to pursue as optional sidequests as well. Some will be permanent and some will be time-limited with effects on the world (positive and negative) depending on whether or not players complete them in time. Each Seasonal Update will refresh the quest board. Quests can only be undertaken by 2+ characters at a time and are intended to provide opportunities for characters to bond, form rapports and generally grow closer.

Quests may provide some small IC reward but will also reward points. Points can be spent on various IC rewards (primarily upgrading/expanding player housing currently). Since magic is extremely commonplace, characters will also have the ability to learn magic in the game setting, which is also done via point rewards.

In addition to quests, players have the option of submitting threads that meet certain criteria as bonus threads. Rather than comment count (though there is a comment minimum for bonus threads), awards are granted based on thread content. Some are one-off rewards and some are recurring. The intent is to encourage players to continue branching out and building CR even once/if they have established a ship.

RULES & CONSIDERATIONS

Expected Player Conduct

The one and only rule of RD is basically just a lot of things boiled down into one simple phrase: Don't Be An Asshole. We expect a base level of civility from and for everyone in the game. Treat your fellow players and mods with the same level of courtesy and respect you'd like to receive in return. If we find players to be contributing to an unsafe or unpleasant atmosphere in the game, the mod team will issue warnings and bans as and when necessary.

In terms of RP, players are expected to keep basic rules of etiquette in mind and refrain from godmodding, infomodding, and blurring IC/OOC boundaries, and otherwise avoid making other people's time in the game unpleasant. Act in good faith and make an effort to stay engaged and active, particularly if you intend to play a character who becomes involved in the metaplot.

Due to the game's premise, we place a high emphasis on respecting boundaries regarding ships (and other close knit CR). Be aware of and respect the stated preferences of your fellow players and be willing to communicate your own straightforwardly. If a player isn't interested in a ship or dynamic, that choice must be respected and no one should feel pressured into interactions they're uncomfortable with. Ship-pushing is not acceptable. In addition, while romance is central to the setting, development of platonic love is just as important to the overall themes of the game. No one is expected to prioritize shipping over other forms of character development.

Also this probably goes without saying but we're all grown-ups here and this is a shippy game, so we expect you to be normal about sex and sexuality please i'm on my hands and knees here

Players are encouraged to try and resolve small-scale disagreements between themselves, but please don't hesitate to come to the mods if you find yourself in a situation you need some intervention in. We're always here to help!

Expected Content & Tone

While relationship drama is the spice of any good romcom, Royal Decree is meant to be light-hearted and fun. While shipping part of the central premise, the game also encourages platonic bonds and rewards players who pursue them. Still, romance is the primary focus, and players should be down to engage with it as a core element. If Wifeguy McLovesHisWife would never consider any lover but his wife, or if Lonerchick Solitudus would avoid the cast entirely, they will be poor fits for the game. We love a good grouch but characters should be chosen with a willingness to engage the premise and other players in mind.

That doesn't mean everything has to be fluffy and conflict-free - quite the opposite! Characters with baggage and emotional hangups are absolutely welcome, and we encourage players to engage in whatever kinds of relationship drama - romantic or platonic - is engaging for them. However, we also expect that players be comfortable with the idea that actions have consequences. If your character plays with hearts, breaks trust, or otherwise stirs the pot, IC backlash may follow. That's part of the fun! But just as importantly, it should remain IC. We expect players to separate character conflict from player interaction and to handle negative CR (within reason) as part of the game rather than something to avoid or shut down.

Please also be aware that no one is guaranteed a ship. While the game provides many opportunities for characters to form romantic connections, there is still the potential that any given character just might not have a good match in the cast. If potentially missing out on a ship would be upsetting or frustrating or otherwise make the game unfun for you, RD may not be the game for you. That said, don’t be afraid to plot and reach out to your fellow players to build those connections! We’re confident there will likely be something for everyone.

Currently, there are no expectations of potentially triggering or upsetting content. Given the premise, themes of sex and sexuality will be common in both IC and OOC discussions, and players are expected to be able to navigate them respectfully. Royal Decree is not a sex game, but players are permitted to post R18 content on the game comms as long as it is properly tagged and warned for. In instances where an otherwise above-board thread goes in a spicy direction, be sure to indicate as such in subject headers for all the brave soldiers who are tagging at work. While not required, locking such content to community members is suggested.

Finally, the nature of a panfandom game may mean that there will be potentially disturbing material from other canons introduced to the game setting from time to time. We don't intend to excessively restrict what players can explore, but we do expect everyone to tag appropriately and give fair warning when upsetting content is present in threads or logs. You know what's in your thread better than anyone - please use your discretion, be thoughtful, and help create an environment where people can engage safely with the game at their own pace. In keeping with this, we ask that players have up-to-date permissions and opt out posts as part of their application housekeeping. Logs and events will include content warnings where appropriate, and no player will be required to engage with aspects of the game they're uncomfortable with.

Mod Timezones & Availability

Mod Claire (she/they/it) is GMT/BST depending on the time of year and usually available midday through to evenings. Modwork will be done as and when needed during the week and you can always hit me up for questions and assistance!

Mods Lu, Nikki, Nao and Ashley help me with running the game to varying capacities!

INVITES & APPS

Who can I app to Royal Decree?

Royal Decree accepts characters from all types of canons and mediums. We accept characters of all ages, though we have a lower age cap of of sixteen. Before you app you’ll need an invitation, though we won’t need to jump through too many hoops to get one, we prommy.

Characters who require large amounts of headcanon to be playable may be apped but will be judged on a case by case basis. Fictionalized versions of real people will also be judged on a case by case basis – as a rule of thumb, something like Fate or Eternal Sonata is fine but something like a VTuber or The Nostalgia Critic is not.

Silent and customizable protagonists may be apped to RD. Original characters and PCs from tabletop campaigns are also appable.

At this time, Royal Decree does not accept:


❤ CRAUs
❤ Characters without a mostly human level of sapience and/or ability to communicate
❤ Characters without the ability to give informed consent
❤ Characters from canons that are exclusively sexual/pornographic
❤ Characters from canons that lack any English translation (official or otherwise)

Once again, we also ask that players keep overall suitability and appropriateness for the setting and tone of the game in mind when considering potential characters. Characters who are completely uninterested in socializing or becoming involved in the IC community would be a poor fit for the game overall. In addition, characters who are overly abrasive, excessively antisocial and unwilling to change and/or hellbent on violence and mayhem with no ability to function day-to-day in the game setting will likely be rejected. Your character does not have to be all sparkles and sunshine but they should be able to make small talk at the grocery store without telling the clerk to go fuck themselves.

Finally, characters intent on bigotry, racism, homophobia, transphobia, misgendendering of trans/nonbinary characters in-game or other such instances of yikes behaviour will not be accepted to Royal Decree.

Are there any kinds of cast caps/player caps/etc?

There are indeed! We have an overall cap of fifty players in game at any given time. None of the mods count towards this cap, regardless of whether they have a character in game or not.

Due to our overall player cap, we also have a cap on canons. Individual canons are capped at three characters while franchises have an overall cap of five - i.e, the cast could contain three characters from Final Fantasy 15 and one character from Final Fantasy 9, but not four characters from Final Fantasy 9.

My character is a robot/ghost/weird nonhuman edge case! Can I still app?

Of course! Even sentient haunted vending machines deserve love.

Characters who fall into the nonhuman oddity category - ghosts, AIs, androids, cursed swords, you name it - are absolutely appable, as long as they meet our general standards for sapience, ability to consent, and communicative ability. We do not require characters to be forcibly humanized to participate. That said, if your character needs help getting around, Callie will happily make them some kind of temporary flesh suit or other tangible vessel to let them interact with the world.

Just keep in mind: depending on your character's nature, they may be a little less compatible romance-wise with the rest of the cast. That doesn't mean you can't app them, just that the onus is on you to be cool with the possibility that your gelatinous alien cloud may not get as many suitors as the tortured anime pretty boy with a sad past and a nice booty. We here at Royal Decree Industries believe there's someone for everyone, but sometimes that someone might just want to be friends, and that's okay too.

My character is severely injured or dead! Can I still app?

Absolutely - within reason!

Injured characters are welcome, so long as you're okay with them being immediately whisked off for medical treatment upon arrival. Rosavelle has very efficient (and very enthusiastic) healers who will patch them up in record time. That said, for tonal reasons, we ask that you avoid apping from canon points where your character is, say, actively being disemboweled, spurting blood like a faucet or otherwise in a state better suited for a horror movie than a romcom.

Dead characters, however, are a no-go, sorry! To enter the game, characters need to be able to receive their invitation and agree to come to Rosavelle - two things that corpses are notoriously bad at. Callie's magic is impressive, but they're not in the resurrection business.

Okay, I'm sold. What’s the app process?

Reserves open on the 15th of every month and remain open for one week. A reserve is required to submit an app to Royal Decree - it counts as your invite, so don't skip it!

When placing your reserve, be sure to note who invited you. If you're on the Plurk list of one of our mods, congrats! You're already good to go.

We also accept plus ones! That means if you're not directly connected to the mod team but are mutuals with someone who is, you're welcome to list them as your referral. Please keep in mind that plus ones are accepted at mod discretion, and we may reach out to confirm with the player referring you.

If you're not connected to any current players or mods, you can still submit a reserve with a note in the invite section that you are requesting an invite from the mods. These are also granted on a case-by-case basis.

Please keep in mind that reserves are not first come, first served, and placing one does not guarantee you an invite. Not getting picked isn't any kind of personal judgement - sometimes it comes down to maintaining cast balance or any number of behind-the-scenes considerations. We reserve the right to accept or decline reserves at our discretion, and we ask that you trust we're making those calls in good faith.

If you don't receive an invite, please don't take it personally! Shake it off, maybe try again another round. That said, if someone decides to throw a fit or make it messy, we reserve the right to permanently refuse them entry to the game.

Once reserves close, apps open up and remain open until midnight on the final day of the month. Apps are reviewed on a rolling basis, so you won't have to wait until the deadline to hear back.

Past the first app round, characters may begin posting immediately upon acceptance and completion of their intro housekeeping - there may be a little IC meme or low-stakes event post to help onboard your character but if you’d rather just jump in and get playing, you’re free to just start posting without having to wait!

How do I drop from the game? Can I re-app if I do?

Just submit a drop request on the appropriate page. That's it! No drama, no stress. From there, you have a few IC options for how your character's departure plays out:


❤ Your character can choose to ask Callie to send them home. This option allows for characters to properly plan their departure and say their goodbyes to everyone before leaving.
❤ Your character may simply disappear. In this case, Callie will inform others that it was an unexpected side effect of the summoning magic - but everyone can rest assured they made it home safely.
❤ Your character can remain in the setting as an NPC. You won't be actively playing them, but they'll still exist in the background. This option is best reserved for when you're planning to return in the near future - please don't leave your CR in limbo unless you're sure you'll be back!

If you've dropped from the game and are ready to bring your character back, just comment on the app page during the current app cycle. Link to your previous app and include a short note about how you'd like your character to re-enter the setting and once you get the mod okay, you're good to go!

PACE, ACTIVITY & HIATUSES

How does activity check work in Royal Decree?

Royal Decree runs on a bimonthly AC schedule, meaning that AC is processed once every two months - or at the end of each Season, whichever is easier to remember. At any time during those two months, you can submit your AC over on the Permanent Activity Page. AC is processed on the first day of a new Season and results will be posted alongside the corresponding Seasonal Post.

RD's activity requirements are one thread per month with at least 7 comments from your character per thread, totaling 30 overall comments for the two-month period. We also ask that your threads are with two different characters.

In addition to threads, we also ask that you include a brief write-up about what your character's been up to - what they've been doing, how their relationships have developed, the state of their Bloom Bond, anything you'd like us to know! It doesn't need to be an essay, just enough to give the mod team a sense of how your character's flowerbed is blooming (both literally and figuratively).

What happens if I can't pass AC?

If a character doesn't meet the activity requirements, they'll receive a strike. Strikes can be cleared by submitting activity by the end of the month. However, if a strike isn't cleared by the midpoint of the current Season, that character will be swept from the game.

While RD's AC is relatively relaxed and the mods are open to accommodate players who are struggling due to real life or circumstances otherwise out of their control, if a player is found to be consistently taking strikes and scraping by on minimum AC, the mod team reserves the right to discuss the state of their activity with said player and, in extreme cases, remove them from the game.

I need a break! How do I go on hiatus?

If you need to go on hiatus, simply contact the mods via the hiatus page and let them know that you need a break from the game. Provide an estimate on how long you will be away and when you expect to return and you will be given a pass on your activity until your hiatus expires. While on hiatus you are, of course, free to keep playing your character and tag around in RD – if you are totally stepping back from the game for your hiatus period, it will be assumed your character is on autopilot unless other plans are made. Usually the IC reason for this will be that Callie requested their assistance with something and your character has been hard at work with whatever task Callie set them to - but if you have your own idea for this, feel free to let us know!

Currently, we allow players to hiatus for one AC period at a time. We ask that players who expect to be absent from the game for 3+ months with no estimated return date consider dropping and reapping when they are in a better position to play.