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WHAT IS A ROLEPLAYING GAME?
A role-playing game (RPG and sometimes roleplaying game) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making or character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. A role-playing game system is a set of game mechanics used in a role-playing game (RPG) to determine the outcome of a character's in-game actions. (Wikipedia)

NationStates utlizes a play-by-post (PBP) role-playing game (sim) style. This is an online text-based role-playing game in which players interact with each other and a predefined environment via text. It is a subset of the online role-playing community which caters to both gamers and creative writers. Play-by-post games may be based on other role-playing games, non-game fiction including books, television and movies, or original settings. This activity is closely related to both interactive fiction and collaborative writing.


WHAT IS P2TM?
We are a growing community of role players who enjoy bringing our own worlds to life or else playing in others. We are not, however, a place for chat-location or chill threads, word games, "in the above nation" games, or games with "sequential responses to things that others have posted with no real rhyme or reason - in other words, spam."¹ These still belong in Forum 7.

P2TM is a very open and tolerant community however it is a dedicated Roleplayer community as well, and it follows rules and guidelines laid down by site administration and moderation in the One Stop Rules Shop, and falls back on common practices found on most roleplay game forums.

Roleplaying threads operate in much the same way here as they do in International Incidents and NationStates. Where Portal To The Multiverse (P2TM) Roleplay differentiates itself is that these threads do not directly involve your nation. RPs in P2TM tend to move beyond the game of NationStates and back into the real world, or shoot further into the realms of fantasy. Common themes include alternate history, various war reenactments and spin offs, franchise based RPs (such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), fantasy and sci-fi, and Zombies, just to name a few. In truth, your imagination is the limit.²


RULES
The OSRS must be followed when posting in P2TM. A breakdown of them can be found in the official Welcome thread. These rules cover PG-13 and Privacy, mature content, keeping it civil, plagiarism, thread ownership, spam (including tagging and superfluous threads), gravedigging, and image spam.


COMMUNITY CULTURE AND SOME COMMON PRACTICES
Let's be clear here: these are not RULES. These are standards or practices you will encounter in P2TM. The community, as mentioned above, operates like many roleplaying forums found on the net. If you are not familiar with these things, or if your only RP experience has been on NS in the II subforum, some of this might seem very foreign. Don't fret. You'll get the hang of it soon enough, and our denizens and Mentors are always willing to help you settle in.

• The OP and their CoOP
  In P2TM, "OP" stands for "Original Poster". They are usually a game's GM, and "own" the thread which they create. "CoOP" is slang for the OP's assistant, though it can also be viewed as "co-author" or "co-producer" depending upon how a thread is set up. We have a guide to help OP and CoOPs gain a better understanding of the responsibilities involved in running a thread.
  
  Most OP will choose a CoOP they have used before, or else will choose a friend to be their CoOP. There's nothing wrong with this practice. What the community does not tolerate well is a sense of entitlement, whereby a person believes they should be chosen as a CoOP solely based upon their post count or length of time on NS.
  
  
• OOC and IC threads
  Threads tend to be divided into the categories of “out of character” interest threads and sign-ups, and “in character” story threads. The difference is easy to tell. Just like on NS or II, “out of character” threads will generally be denoted with the (OOC) tags in the title, with “in character” threads will sport the (IC) tags. Remember that thread ownership does apply to roleplays, and that, if the original poster (OP) asks you to stop posting in his/her thread, it's advisable (read: mandatory) that you heed that request, regardless of the reason, or lack thereof, and quietly leave, dignity intact. The only thing worse than a dingbat domineering a thread is two dingbats fighting in a thread.² Basically, players refusing to adhere to OP request to leave the thread may result in a Moderator coming in and re-iterating said order in a far more stern and thread-disrupting fashion.
  
  Your OOC and IC threads should have some organization to them to help players participate. Some things found in an OOC are the game's premise, rules, character applications, setting descriptions, a character roster and so on. Plays have come to expect some of these things, and tend to select games with nicely defined OOCs. You are not required to have both an OOC and IC thread for your game. However, you should make some effort to keep OOC and IC posts distinct in your IC thread.
  
  Some of the best advice regarding OOC thread and game pitches comes from an old post buried in time. "Outline your idea in an OOC thread and what you expect from payers joining, and see if anyone is interested. Please refrain from unwarranted or repeated “bumping” of posts, it looks tackier than an emo Hallmark card. Trust me when I say, if people are attracted to the idea, they’ll post. If your idea flops, don’t be discouraged! Not every idea is a winner, but, in general, the P2TM RPing crowd is diverse enough that nearly any idea will find a fan or two. And, hey, maybe it just wasn't the right time for your Magnum Opus. Let is simmer, let it grow, bring some friends along, and try again in a few months. It might be better for it!
  
  If you want to share your ideas and need some help to nurture it into a solid Roleplay, check out The Traveller's Café. You're also allowed to advertise your RP's there.²
  
  
  
• Goals
  P2TM games are often set up with goals in mind. These goals are often what divide a P2TM game from an F7 game. Goals are the purpose for the thread.
  
  If the goal is to play a mechanics RP game whereby each week the OP posts an advance to the story and the players all have a week to respond for their character/faction, the goal matches P2TM's community conventions. If the goal is to play a story telling RP game (98% of P2TM RP is this), the goal matches P2TM's community conventions. Games can be "light" or "heavy" but they should have a goal, which is met through objectives, which are manifest as the plot unfolds.
  
  
  
• Post Content
  Lines. Always check with your OP/GM to see what they require. Some want a three-line minimum for IC posts. Others are fine with one-liner posts. As Trans put it, "Remember, roleplaying is about telling a story, not idly chatting with friends". Threads that involve only idle banter amongst the players may be subject to closure based upon Moderator ruling.²
  
  Asterisk play in IC. Asterisk actions are not an accepted convention in publishing. Sorry. There is absolutely no point in using them -- quotation marks are the punctuation tool used to separate dialogue from other action. There would be no meaningful difference between: "Dammit!" Tom took a sip of beer. and Dammit. * Tom took a sip of beer *. One is proper grammar in the English language, and one is not.
  
  Asterisk play is acceptable in IRC chats, and on 4Chan. It's fine in an OOC thread. If you want to be taken seriously as a gamer, please do not do this IC. There is no OSRS rule against it here. It's a matter of proper RPing Etiquette. Please respect that.
  
  Colored or specially formatted fonts to denote the speaker. Some players choose to differentiate between their characters by using different colors rather than a simple "he said". Players using a dark setting sometimes select colors that don't display well on a light setting. At times, the colors chosen are garish. Colored dialog font is mainly utilized in Chat Location, Chill or Blitz threads. PRO TIP: Telepathy is frequently denoted by italics. [example: "What do you mean?" she conveyed to his mind.]
  
  Spacing. Please try to not make "text walls". A good trick to use is to add a space between paragraphs. Treat character dialog in the same fashion, inserting spaces between each character's lines. Many OP expect players to do this, so you don't often see it in the OP's rules list, or else its covered under "good grammar and punctuation".

• Multiple OOC and IC threads pertaining to the same singular franchise. You really don't need an OOC thread for maps, plus one for character sheet storage, plus one for chat, plus one for actual game discussion. You can usually consolidate all those things into one OOC thread via multiple posts made by the OP. It's possible to have multiple IC threads however you don't want them to get too invasive.

TYPES OF THREADS FOUND IN P2TM
RP Games

• Storytelling Narrative. Examples include AD&D, Cyberpunk, X-Men, SCP, Middle Earth, Alt History, or player created worlds.
  
• Strategy and mechanics-based Narratives. These range depending upon rules systems, and sometimes bleed into storytelling. Examples might include: faction-based RPs, Civil War reenactments, 40K battles and so on. These are usually played in rounds, and the GM might opt to roll dice or assign modifiers. In some forms. the GM posts and players then write up a description of their faction/character's reaction.

Other Kinds of Allowed Threads

• Official chat thread (OOC at all times). There can be only one. It is Mod Sanctioned. It can be found here. Please do NOT make your own chat thread.
  
• An official Discussion/Brainstorming/Advice thread (here)
  
• Official Guides.
  
• Organization threads. These vary depending on topic. We have Tolkien and Warhammer groups, writer's support groups, gamer support groups. Please do not allow your group's thread to turn into a generic chat.
  
• Subforum Newspaper threads.

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NOTES
1. "Spam" definition taken from Kyrusia's Mod ruling found here
2. Hitchhikers Guide to F7, Transnapastain, as archived here after P2TM was created.