Swish-and-Flick - v.Bubbleburst :: A Harry Potter RPG - A Muggle's Guide to Swish-and-Flick

Swish-and-Flick - v.Bubbleburst :: A Harry Potter RPG :: Necessities :: Welcome and Updates :: A Muggle's Guide to Swish-and-Flick

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Kamikaze
Order of Merlin

Princess Belle
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Thank ya Lou! ♥[Mo0:0]

Joined: Mar 2004
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Posts: 9,486
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A Muggle's Guide to Swish-and-Flick
« Thread Started on Aug 18, 2007, 10:51pm »

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Woo, fresh meat!

Hello and welcome to Swish-and-Flick! Look through this page if you are new and need an introduction to the ways of our RPG. If you need some further assistance, or don't find your questions answered, you can contact the admins at any time.

What is Roleplaying?
Role-playing means to take on the role of character and portray it as if you were acting. In our forums, this is done through writing. At Swish-and-Flick we write in the third person, which means from the perspective of someone watching the event. For examples, have a scoot around the forums!

How to Join

First, register an account with ProBoards for our forums. You must be 13 years of age to complete this action.
Next, you will need to create a character or audition for a character. Proceed to the Character Information board and fill out a biography for your character. You can find much more information about the character creation process on the Character Information board.
Once an admin has read over your biography they will reply with questions, suggestions for edit, or with a note letting you know that your bio has been approved. If an admin asks you to change something, that is not a remark against your writing; usually we will only ask you to change something if you have contradicted yourself in the biography or if we need you to change it due to site rules. We're just proofreaders, really.
When you are approved you can go to any of our in character boards, listed by location, and begin RPing. Or, you can go to the Plot Discussions board to chat to other players about posts or plots you would like to be involved in. You can also set up a history for your character in the Character Relations section, which is handy for fitting your character into the social networks around the wizarding world.

Playing a Canon Character
Here you will find a list of all of the Taken Book Characters on the board. To join a canon character you need to check it's availability on that list, and if no one is currently playing the character you can fill out the audition form located in that thread. The process is the same as that for an original character, except that Book Characters require a small audition piece.

Vacation Listings
If you are going to be absent from the boards for a lengthy period of time (a week or more, say), consider posting a Vacation Notice! Not only will this let everyone on the board know that you won't be around, but it will also keep you from losing characters or privileges or having your account deleted by mistake. If your absence goes on for a while, keep in contact with the admins so we don't accidentally delete your stuff!

« Last Edit: Sept 16, 2007, 1:37pm by Kamikaze »

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Kamikaze
Order of Merlin

Princess Belle
member is offline

Thank ya Lou! ♥[Mo0:0]

Joined: Mar 2004
Gender: Female

Posts: 9,486
Location: Tortuga

Roleplay Etiquette
« Reply #1 on Aug 18, 2007, 11:01pm »

Roleplay Etiquette
This is just some handy information that will help you adjust to the way things work here at SnF.

Abbreviations and What They Mean

IC - in character, stuff pertaining to the character's world
OOC - out of character, stuff pertaining to the author's world
CTA - Contact the Admins
PD - Plot Discussions
G5, S4, H7 - The first letter - G, S, R, or H - stands for a character's house, and the second number is their year.
O - Other, or non-student character. Some may also use profession abbreviations.
DP, MoM, StM, etc - Profession abbreviations. Find more here.

Unspoken Rules

When a thread has a name ((in parenthesis)) behind the title, that means it is reserved for someone. Ask permission before joining these threads, and don't be surprised if they say it's closed.

Even if it's not reserved, it's generally polite to ask to join an RP that is already well established. These posts may already have a full page of writing or more.

When you're posting on an In Character (IC) board be sure your Out Of Character comments (OOC) are marked in some way. Most of us on SnF use ((double parenthesis)) to denote out of character comments. I.e. ((Ron's so dumb, omg!)) Ron took this moment to demonstrate his piercing wit. "Buh?"

If you are applying for a student character in the middle of an ‘academic year’ on the boards (aka a 'season'), play as if your character has been here all along. Students will have been at Hogwarts since September (unless they have a very convincing reason for missing the start of the school year), and older characters should RP that they have been at Hogwarts since year 1. Character Relations is a great place to set up history with other players so that you know what they have been doing for the years before you began RPing them.

When your character meets another character in a roleplay consider their relationship before acting as if they have never met, simply because you have never written it out. For instance if both characters are aurors or if they are in the same year at Hogwarts, they probably already know each other.

If you have a problem with anything at all, it is generally best to direct your complaint to the administration. The Private Message service is useful for private matters, and the CTA is there for anything else. We're here for you, man. Fo' sho'.

« Last Edit: Aug 19, 2009, 11:04am by Kamikaze »

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Kamikaze
Order of Merlin

Princess Belle
member is offline

Thank ya Lou! ♥[Mo0:0]

Joined: Mar 2004
Gender: Female

Posts: 9,486
Location: Tortuga

Helpful Links
« Reply #2 on Aug 18, 2007, 11:20pm »

JKRowling.com -- The woman that started it all. Find tons of useful information here, particularly in the FAQ and secret sections. Roam away, and learn something new about Harry's world!

Synonyms for Said and Synonyms for Walk -- Just what they say, lists of words to use for the most common actions in roleplay. Compiled by Kamikaze.

List of Characters in HP -- By Wikipedia, a list of characters in HP. I find it's actually more up to date than the Lexicon.

Average Heights -- For various countries, etc. For the United Kingdom it's 5'9" for males, 5'3" for females. Food for thought.

Climate at Hogwarts -- Actually the climate at Aberdeen, but we figure Hogwarts is close to Aberdeen and therefore this can be used to give a vague idea what's happening there weather wise at any given time in our RP.

Weather in the UK -- Weather everywhere but Hogwarts.

Definition of Mary Sue -- Well worth a read if you plan on making a character here.

« Last Edit: Nov 20, 2007, 11:34pm by Kamikaze »

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Kamikaze
Order of Merlin

Princess Belle
member is offline

Thank ya Lou! ♥[Mo0:0]

Joined: Mar 2004
Gender: Female

Posts: 9,486
Location: Tortuga

Magical Creature Standardization
« Reply #3 on Sept 16, 2007, 1:37pm »

Magical Creature Standardization
For the purposes of RP here at SnF the following standardizations of Magical Creatures applies. ^__^

Centaurs
From Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Newt Scamander):
Quote:

M.O.M Classification: XXXX⁵
The centaur has a human head, torso and arms joined to a horse’s body which may be any of several colours. Being intelligent and capable of speech, it should not strictly speaking be termed a beast, but by its own request it has been classified as such by the Ministry of Magic.

The centaur is forest-dwelling. Centaurs are believed to have originated in Greece, though there are now centaur communities in many parts of Europe. Wizarding authorities in each of the countries where centaurs are found have allocated areas where the centaurs will not be troubled by Muggles; however, centaurs stand in little need of wizard protection, having their own means of hiding from humans.

The ways of the centaur are shrouded in mystery. They are generally speaking as mistrustful of wizards as they are of Muggles and indeed seem to make little differentiation between us. They live in herds ranging in size from ten to fifty members. They are reputed to b e well versed in magical healing, divination, archery and astronomy.

From A Muggle’s Guide to the Wizarding World (Fionna Boyle):
Quote:

With the body of a horse and the chest, arms and head of a man, centaurs represent both power and intelligence. Mythologically, they have been depicted as being friendly and on good terms with humans; however, the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest keep to themselves and are mistrustful of wizards. They are a proud, ancient race who refuse to submit to Wizarding rule, control, or notions of superiority. Although the centaurs will speak to Hagrid if he asks, they will not tolerate outside interference in their matters. They are not especially friendly and keep to themselves.

As stargazers, centaurs impartially observe the heavens and are sworn not to go against what the heavens have in store. It is considered a great betrayal for a centaur to share his secret knowledge with humans. Although centaurs know things, they don’t say much, and tell the future in an exceedingly slow and cryptic manner. The ninth sign of the zodiac, Sagittarius, is represented by a centaur.

Centaurs here at SNF
Centaurs here at SNF are largely as depicted above. Minor variations from these standards are acceptable, however we are not accepting centaurs from any herd other than the one in the Forbidden Forest.

Ghosts
Although no standard is available through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, SNF allows member to play ghosts as full characters providing that there is a good reason for why that character would remain earth-bound as a ghost and relevant haunting spots are given for said character to inhabit.

Merpeople
From Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Newt Scamander):
Quote:

M.O.M Classification: XXXX¹⁰
Merpeople exist throughout the world, though they vary in appearance almost as much as humans do. Their habits and customs remain as mysterious as those of a centaur, though those wizards who have mastered the language of Mermish speak of highly organized communities varying in size according to habitat, and some have elaborately constructed dwellings. Like the centaurs, the merpeople have declined ‘being’ statues in favour of ‘beast’ classifications.

The oldest recorded merpeople were known as Sirens (Greece) and it is in warmer waters that we find the beautiful mermaids so frequently depicted in Muggle literature and paintings. The selkies of Scotland and the Merrows of Ireland are less beautiful, but they share that love of music which is common to all merpeople.

Merpeople at SNF
Due to upcoming events, we will be accepting mermaid characters in accordance with the above standards. Please note that the only area we will be accepting as a merpeople habitat is the lake in the Hogwarts grounds.

Vampires
From A Muggle’s Guide to the Wizarding World (Fionna Boyle):
Quote:

Vampires are pale undead creatures that maintain their immortality by biting humans and feasting on their blood. Vampire lore is common the world over, but largely associated with Eastern Europe. Gilderoy Lockhart claims to have turned a vampire into a vegetarian after doing battle with him.

Vampires at SNF
Classified by the Ministry of Magic as ‘non-wizard part-humans’, and their treatment is regulated by the Ministry. For the most part, general vampire lore is a staple when applying and playing a vampire character here at SNF. The vampire at Slughorn's party was described as "emaciated and with dark circles under his eyes," but that may have been from having not fed in some time. Nevertheless we'd like to think that vampires are pale- and cold-skinned unless having just fed. Vampires are hosts to their own particular brand of magic, including superhuman strength, speed, and senses, but here at SnF we would like to tone that down a bit. We don't want them quite unbeatable, but strong enough that vampire hunters are highly prized for their effectiveness. In addition to that, vampires have their own brand of wandless magic, which isn't as effective or varied as wizards. It consists mostly of telekinesis. They are able to use wands, although it is against the law of most modern wizarding countries. Wands when used by vampires will be particularly finicky, though wands of certain cores and woods are more receptive than others. Daylight renders vampires absolutely powerless, and can cause illness or even death if left in direct sunlight too long. Vampires can procreate with humans, though the pregnancies of such couplings are normally disastrous for mothers whose fetuses are vampiric even in the womb. Vampires can be created by merely being bitten by one, but a more deliberate turning can occur by being drained to the point of death and drinking vampire blood. In other cases vampire blood is highly sought after as a potion ingredient as well as a stimulant that increases human strength, senses, and speed, and is sometimes used as a drug to enhance sports performance or even as an aphrodisiac. They are hated and feared by many, including centaurs who will fight them fiercely.

Veela
Also part-human, Veela are creatures resembling beautiful women with classic features and long flowing hair. When angered, however, they become something distinctly less attractive. They exert over the male human population a kind of fascination which transcends in a trance, causing any human male under its spell to vie desperately for the Veela’s affections. Despite much argument, it has been deduced that in order for propagation of the species there must be a male version. Not much is known about the creature from a Potterverse point of view, but for the purposes of RP here at SNF the above standards apply.

Werewolves
From Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Newt Scamander):
Quote:

M.O.M Classification: XXXXX¹⁶
The werewolf is found worldwide, though it is believed to have originated in northern Europe. Humans turn into werewolves only when bitten. There is no known cure, though recent developments in potion-making have to a great extent alleviated the worst symptoms. Once a month, at the full moon, the otherwise sane and normal Muggle or wizard afflicted transforms into a murderous beast. Almost uniquely amongst fantastic creatures, the werewolf actively seeks humans in preference to any other kind of prey.

Werewolves at SNF
In addition to the standards set out above, werewolves here are afflicted for life once bitten. They cannot change into wolf form at will and may do so only at a full moon; Nor can they control their hunger or actions once in wolf form unless under the influence of the relevant potion. It should also be noted that werewolves do not look strictly like their fully canine counterparts; The main differences are small but when recognised prove invaluable. The snout on the werewolf for instance is slightly longer, the pupils of the eyes are a tad more dilated and the tail appears a little fuller with the fur more tufted. Also please note that we do not accept any other werecreatures. Just werewolves.

In order to apply for a Creature or Being, please fill out the normal appropriate Original Character Form and post it as normal.

« Last Edit: Nov 23, 2009, 6:31am by Kamikaze »

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