The Covenant [Rules]

[The Clave]

General Rules

• RESPECT: Be kind, courteous, and respectful to other members on the site. If you have a difference of opinion, or if someone does something that upsets you, contact us rather than handling it yourself. Do not harass, attack, or offend any other members.
• BASH FREE: We are a positive, bash free board. Please do not fill the site with angry comments, rants, or any sort of negativity. This is to ensure the board remains a positive, fun, and safe place for everyone!
• NO PLAGIARISM: We have a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism if any kind. This includes copying and paste your bio information directly from another site (inlcuding wiki), taking other people's graphics without credit, and so on.
• SHOW BASED: We are based on the Shadowhunters television series, rather than the book series. If you would like to carry out events that occurred in the book which conflict with the television show, please do so in the AU board. We are a canon based site, but OCs are of course welcome.
• NOT ONLY FOR RPERS: This site is not limited to only role players. You are more than welcome to join if you enjoy the series or books and wish to chat about it and in the process, meet other fans.

Application Rules

• USERNAME: The name of your username should be the name of your character. Please do not register with a username of a character that you do not intend to play (i.e. registering with Clary if you do not intend to write as her). This is to avoid confusion. Once you are approved, you will have the opportunity to select a unique posting color that your username will be changed to.
• CANONS AND OCS: We accept both kinds of characters on the board. Please ensure you conform them to properly fit into the plot and verse of this role play. You must create a separate account for each character.
• CHARACTER LIMIT: There is no limit to how many canons or OCs you can have, so long as you can be active as them. It is however strongly recommended not to take canons who's paths overlap too much as it would greatly hinder your plots. I.e. Taking both Clary and Jace. Or Luke and Maia. Limited interactions in the show are fine, i.e. taking Izzy and Camille.
• BIO TEMPLATE: We have a standard template that must be completely filled out if you are applying for a character. Please do not change anything and follow the specific requirements in each field. If you are stuck on a section, don't hesitate to send us a PM and we will help you the best we can. Be sure to check the Cast List first to see which characters are open and taken.
• BALANCE: Please ensure that you limit your character's skills and abilities. Please do not have your character excel at everything. Add limitations and weaknesses to them to keep a fair balance on the site.
• WIP BIOS: You are permitted to post WIP (Work In Progresss) bios. However, if it is not complete after 5 days of being posted, then the bio will be taken down If it was for a canon character, then we will ask you wait a week before reapplying.
• RESERVING CHARACTERS: You are permitted to reserve a character either by pming the staff or posting a WIP bio, in which case the character will automatically be put on reserve for you. You will have 5 days to post or complete the bio.
• ADMIN APPROVAL: You must wait for your bio to be approved before you can post in the role play, as well as the the plots and plans board, and the graphic requests section. You will receive a PM once your bio has been approved.

Posting Rules

• THIRD PERSON: All posts including the application, must be written in third person (he, she, they), not first person (I, me, my).
• POSTING LENGTH: We ask that each post be a minimum of two paragraphs long. Please make sure to give enough to reply to so that the person you are role playing with does not feel inconvenienced. Ask The Character responses, Memes, and the Posting Challenges are the exception to this rule as they can be as short as you'd like.
• POSTING MINIMUM: For canons we require 2 posts per week. For OCs we require a minimum of 1 posts a week PER character. Keep in in mind that this is the minimum and exceeding this would be great. This is to keep the threads moving and so that it is fair for other role players to not be waiting on people for a long time.
• NO GOD MODDING: Do not control any other character apart from your own (i.e. making them say or do something in your post that they did not do in their own). Also, be respectful of the way they portray that character; do not pressure them to engage in plots that go against their preference of how they see their character act or think.
• CANON STANDARD: Members are required to stay as close to their canon characters as possible. Once your bio is approved you are not permitted to edit anything in it without the staff's approval.
• MIRRORING: Please do not mirror canon plots, especially when it comes to OCs. This means having your character experience similar circumstances, upbringing, etc as those we have seen in the show. Furthermore, please be mindful of what makes canons unique and rare, not taking away from their originality or trying to outdo/overpower them.
• FLUID TIMELINE: What this means is that there is no set timeline on the board. Threads can take place before, during, or after any of the episodes in any of the seasons. We also have an AU board for out of canon plots and relationships.
• AU THREADS: We do have an AU (alternate universe) board. This is for threads that step outside the canon verse of the plot. This involves romantic relationships that are not canon, or 'What If' scenarios that could have changed the course of the plot
• AWAY NOTICE: If you are going to be absent for more than a week, you must post an away notice and you must have a return date in that notice. If you are not 100% certain, then please speak to a staff member.
• INACTIVITY: If there is no away notice posted and we have not seen you post nor heard from you in over a week, you will receive one warning PM in which there will be a deadline to respond in it. If you have not contacted us by the deadline, then we will have no choice but to open your character and archive your threads.

Chatbox Rules

• CONTENT: The chat box is a great place to meet other members and even plan threads. With that said, please do not rant, complain, bash, or post negative messages of any kind. As well, do not pressure members to post, or pressure the admins to approve your bio. We also ask that you not post extremely personal information about you, as your private life is just that: private. Please keep in mind that this a public place to talk and thus, require that everyone feel comfortable with the conversation taking place in it.
• DISCRETION: Any conversation between a member and the admin is private. Do not post it or talk about it in the CB. If there is something we need to discuss with you privately, we will do so VIA PM. We require that you not talk about these issues in a public place for all members to see.
• ADVERTISING: Absolutely no advertising in the Chat Box! There is a board for you all to post links to other sites. Please do not post links to other forums.
• IN CHARACTER CHAT: The IC [In Character] Chat Box is located at the bottom of the forum. This is a place to muse as your character and does not necessarily follow any specific plot. It is a great place for all sorts of in character fun and shenanigans.
• OUT OF CHARACTER CHAT: The OOC [Out Of Character] Chat Box is located at the left hand side of the forum. This is a place to chat and meet other members. Forum rules about positivity, respect, etc still apply.

Graphics Rules

• FACE CLAIM: Everyone must have a face claim for their character, represented by a real life celebrity. This means no anime or animated images permitted as well as no personal pictures of non celebs.
• ICON: Your icon should be an image of the character you are playing. The maximum size permitted is 150 pixels x 150 pixels. This will also be the image that appears on the forum when you are online. It can be either a stationary image or a gif.
• AVATAR: Your avatar is an image that should also be a picture or a gif of your character. The dimensions for this are 250 x 400 pixels.
• SIGNATURE: Your signature/banner should be an image of the character you are playing. The maximum size permitted is a width of 600 pixels and a height of 300 pixels. This is to ensure that the board does not get stretched by an image that is too large. As well please do not link to any external sites off this role play.
• CREDIT: If someone else has made your signature and/or av, you must add a line of credit stating the person who made it. You are permitted to take and use graphics from tumblr, fanpop, or any other sites but you must link it to the source or graphics maker to avoid plagiarism. 
• CUSTOM TITLE: Your custom title can only be changed by the admin and it will be the name of your character's group (i.e. Shadowhunter, Mundane, Warlock, Vampire, Werewolf, Seelie, etc).

We the staff are here to help and support you with whatever you need! We are excited to be part of a Shadowhunters role play community so please remember the most important rule of all . . .

HAVE FUN!!!