KIND: Good Friends and Citizens

A relatively new clan, based on the idea that being nice and having fun is nice and fun.

Description

This is a clan for roleplayers: people looking for a like-minded community, the entertainment and elegance of the dance of friendships, not just buffs.

Clan aims

We are good, kind people: we are also kindred spirits, partly a family, kin. We are good friends, to each other, and to others; we are good citizens, being helpful and thoughtful for everyone on the Island. We are here to have fun, to enjoy all aspects of the game, and to help everyone else do so too.

We play nicely, but we do play. Tell a story, share a scene, start a game, make a joke, commit a pun, create or invent something new and wonderful. We are interested and interesting, bringing and searching for stories to share, people to meet, places to explore and games to play. We hope to find, to offer, to share lively enjoyment, quiet entertainment, and subtle amusement. Aspire to inspire imagination, pique curiosity, and to amuse and delight.

This will be an active, social and creative clan, participating in the Island community. As well as the usual playing with each other, and friends and strangers all over the Island, we will have games, and parties, and excursions! These will be open to anyone who wants to play, but clannies should try to come along. Maybe there will be competitions with prizes. Certainly a little get-together every so often. What else would you like to do? Share your ideas!

Clan rules

1. Play nicely.

We will be kind, welcoming and helpful to everyone: clannies, friends, and strangers; rookies and veterans. Make friends, be open-minded, give good advice, help out, and be considerate; do not cause trouble, grief, or drama.

Pay special attention to the game rules, and to the roleplay guides (hotlinks: How to win friends and influence roleplayers: tinyurl.com/ii-new-players; Advanced Roleplaying Guide: tinyurl.com/ii-roleplaying. Also see the Rookie Advisory).

As the two famous rules go, don't be a dick and don't take it seriously; no grudges, meanness or bullying, In-Character or Out-Of-Character. Misunderstandings happen, and personality clashes; even roleplaying styles may differ, but always think before you type, consider how the other players may feel, and make allowances.

Friendly rivalry, good-natured teasing, and playful or plotline “fighting” is fine; upsetting others is not.

Don't get angry about people seeming to do things to annoy you, stealing/copying your ideas, moving in on your territory, etc. Most likely they're just having fun, not trying to upset you. Contact a moderator if you feel attacked or victimised!

No godmoding¹⁾, drama llamas²⁾, or mary-sues³⁾. Please play and write considerately and thoughtfully, giving other people as much respect and freedom as you hope to get from them.

No ERP⁴⁾ in public areas. If you wouldn't be happy with your admin, friends and family reading it, take it to a locked room or off-Island.

If you can't get on with someone, either politely discuss it with them (OOC usually works better - and don't be afraid to ask the moderators for help), or if you can't agree, then politely ignore them.

If you don't enjoy someone's roleplaying, offer helpful advice and constructive criticism if they ask. But do not insult, inhibit, or proscribe. Avoid playing with them and skip over reading their scenes if you do not enjoy them.⁵⁾

2. Play the game.

This is CMJ's Improbable Island; why play a generic or other-canon character⁶⁾ here? Why mash a square peg into an Improbable-shaped hole, when this is the only place you can really play with Improbable stories and scene-setting?

Please stay at least somewhat within the Island canon story. Read the flavour text - there's wonderful lots of it all over the place. Ideally start as a human, then explore, fight (or run from/insult/etc) monsters, and work your way up to the Drive. If you want to be a non-human, have DK changes; if you want weird and wonderful senses and abilities, grow into Joker powers.

Of course, you can play a character who is different to the figures in the Museum. You can play a character who contradicts the introduction screen, or one of the in-game stories or quests. You can expand on and put your own spin on these things. Of course you can! That's most of the fun! Very few people are cookie-cutter stereotypes. And doing the same thing all the time would be boring. But, please, be aware and respectful of the game world and setting; if you're going to disregard or go against it, please do so thoughtfully, carefully and respectfully, bearing in mind that other peoples' interpretation of canon will differ.

3. Contribute.

Our buffs are maximised, and the tower is nearly complete, so … play! Play with us, play with other people, play on your own. It's all good fun.

In character and in banter, be a good friend and a good citizen. Do a good turn, whether a simple favor or sharing a few hours of fun. Help the rookies settle in or with their perennial quests for pants! Help your friends. Have a good time. Why not share a cup of tea, or go exploring, or make something, or find something, or have an adventure.

Roleplay well, and write well. Aim for a variety of interesting, entertaining, inventive, and original characters, plotlines, story arcs and scenes. Aim to draw in other players, as observers and participants to the fun. Inclusiveness is more fun! It doesn't all have to be inspiring and exciting; quiet socialising or a simple task can be just as enjoyable if it's well written. And nobody is perfect; if you're not confident, or inexperienced, read more from the people you admire, and write with them too if possible. Ask for advice and criticism, and consider it thoughtfully. Practice may not instantly make perfect, but it will improve if you keep thinking.

Rack up some DKs, maybe help with building or research or supplies or something. Make thoughtful (or amusing, or ideally both) posts on the Enquirer, or write a useful/funny wiki page. Help with outpost defence and Titan swarms. You don't have to be a powerplayer or a forum fanatic, or act as a Public Information Booth, or befriend everybody - just, in general, contribute something.

4. Have fun.

If you're not having fun, there's something wrong! Talk to someone, work out what you're not enjoying, and try to improve or avoid that particular thing, perhaps? Concentrate on the fun things, don't dwell on the un-fun things!

Clan benefits

Friends!

Friends in KIND - five members so far,
Alliance with TYPES - another dozen nice folks,
and we're friendly with everyone else too!

Clan buff!

Our buff is maxed out:

Attack	Stat multiplier	1.20 x	Level 10/10
Defence	Stat multiplier	1.20 x	Level 10/10
HP Drain	Hits to monsters increases your HP	10 %	Level 10/10
Damage Reflection	Hits from monsters hurt them instead	10 %	Level 10/10
Regeneration	Heal during fights	0.5 HP/level	Level 10/10
Duration	Every gameday	Infinite rounds	Level 25 and Maxed Out

Clan building!

Handy for all three southern cities at (14,8)
Common room and bar
Kitchens
Extensive gardens
Adventure playground
Guest rooms
Your own bedroom there, to decorate as you please

Help, advice, and useful gameplay info!

Full set of maps for the Abandoned Factory
Maps of the Island, with towns, houses, beacons and beds
Answers to over a hundred of the Cryptic Questions Joker's riddles
Links to handy resources
Lots of information
And even statistics!

Current clan roster

Buddleia - founder

Edith - leader

Buck - member

Syd Lexic - member

Damara - member

Aslaug - applicant

With extra thanks to Ebenezer and Claude

If you are interested in joining

Please introduce yourself, in-char or OOC, to one of us! We can discuss it in character and/or out of character.

To join, players must:

Agree to abide by our rules as well as the game rules

Agree with our aims and hope to fulfill them.

Characters must:

Agree to respect our rules and aims.

Mesh well with the group. We don't have to be best friends or only play with each other. But if your type of character, style of roleplay, typical storylines, or way of writing clash with or don't fit in with the clan and clannies, then you would probably be happier elsewhere.

Be a good friend; be a good citizen. See the rules above - you don't have to be all sweetness and light; you don't have to be everyone's friend. You can be naughty and silly and impolite. Just in general be a good person, who others are usually glad to see.

Ideally:

Players will be friendly with all or most clan members.

Characters will trust and respect the other characters, and enjoy their company.

Characters will be in the clan in-character.

Characters will be active, regular roleplayers.

Alts

Alternate characters are not prohibited; just please inform us if the character is not the only account you roleplay. If the player is splitting their time, attention and loyalties between characters and clans, it seems only fair for people to know.

¹⁾

Godmoding (also known as godmodding - but I think it's from “god mode” in video games, not “moderating” or “modifying” which would abbreviate to “modding”) is when you write how other people are affected by or react to your character, without their permission, without giving them options. Commonly see in fights and arguments, but can apply to many other circumstances. (May overlap with MarySue traits, especially the scene-fixing.) Always remember - you can only write what you do, what you see, how you feel.

²⁾

Drama llama - an admittedly disparaging term for someone who is trying to be interesting and exciting, but lives in such a constant stream of Important Plot Points and Character Development that it feels boring and exhausting to others. Typically with relationships, but sometimes with fights, the theme is melodrama. Like daytime television, soap operas, dating shows. Yes, some drama and excitement is great fun for spicing up a story, but be aware that not everybody wants to hear or see all about how in love you are, how upset you are, how happy you are, how enraged you are, how betrayed you feel, how you're evil now, how you're good now, etc. Some is good. Too much is bad. Not every scene is about you, and not everyone is eager to read your every word.

³⁾

Mary Sue - a “mary sue” character is characterised by being the best at something, the most exciting, the most interesting, the most loveable, the most wonderful, etc. And by piling up usually-unrelated traits for no obvious reason. They tend to be “author avatars”, being how the writer wishes they were; effortlessly perfect, powerful, beautiful, talented, educated, rich, etc; and always able to summon a Magic Scene-Fixing Widget or ability out of thin air whenever it's convenient. Written to be admired, not as an actual person who others can empathise with. And, especially, making every scene and story all about them. Here is a very good description, and here is a quiz to help you think about whether your character might be at risk of MarySueism. Here is a hilarious comic.

⁴⁾

ERP - erotic roleplay, porn, cybersex, whatever you want to call it. Yes, the island is over-18s only, we all arrive naked, marriage is a game mechanic, and people do fall in love and lust - but that doesn't mean that anyone else wants to watch you snogging, petting, groping or humping. If you'd be embarrassed or annoyed to be observed (and remember chat lasts for a week after the act) or have comments, or if other people are doing or could be doing a non-sexual scene - then don't play it there. Outposts, the map, other peoples' Places, and your own unlocked rooms all count as public, in this sense. Please lock your doors.

⁵⁾

Ignore RP you don't enjoy - can feel harder than it sounds, and like you're being pushed out or picked on - but remember, it's only a game, and they're not breaking any rules by not playing the way you enjoy. Unless they are breaking the game rules, in which case, call a moderator!

⁶⁾

Non-improbable characters: (frequently one-dimensional or caricatured) tropes from other books, games, films, series etc (e.g. Jedi, vampire, dragon, ninja, paladin, Pokemon, assassin, spaceman, pirate, elf, kitsune, fairy, etc. Not to mention homebrew species/roles/worlds you've invented). If it's done well, it can be great fun. And lots of things can be handwaved as “oh, how Improbable!”. But why play in Improbable Island if you're going to disregard all or most of CMJ's writing? Yes, there's a good community of roleplayers, and the game is enjoyable - but here, we have this whole world to play in. Why waste it?

The Old Improbable Island Wiki

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