Non-graphic violence vs. Board Categories?

[Cassandra LeMay]

I need a little help here, clarifying how a certain game might be rated and where it might fall in the categories available here.

I am thinking about posting an interest check for something based on Roger Zelazny's Amber books. Sex plays a very small part in those books and generally falls into the "and then we made love" category. I am fine with that. The details may not be all that important. But what about violence and/or torture? Zelazny never goes into gory details in the books, but there are limbs being chopped off, people run through the guts with swords, and so on. I doubt graphic details will be needed in a game like that, but where does one draw the line? Characters being killed (even if they are NPCs) could be seen as "extreme", yet the hero mowing down dozens of 'mooks' is a staple of many an action movie that hardly gets a rating at all.

If this has been discussed before (and I doubt it hasn't been) I would welcome any link to previous questions that might clarify things for me.

Many thanks in advance for all answers. :)

[Nico]

Personally, I would put torture and limbs getting chopped off into Extreme. Nobody would stumble on it by accident, and make someone uncomfortable. I'd label the thread, too, with a warning, maybe. Like, "Caution, violence inside" or something along those lines.

[Cassandra LeMay]

Personally, I would put torture and limbs getting chopped off into Extreme. Nobody would stumble on it by accident, and make someone uncomfortable. I'd label the thread, too, with a warning, maybe. Like, "Caution, violence inside" or something along those lines.

I was afraid that would be the answer. I am not sure if I would be happy to have something that is basically an action-adventure thrown into the same category as explicit gore and tentacle moster ... (fill in the blank), as it might get lost among the threads with 'extreme' sexual content, but I will - of course - abide by your ruling. I suppose if I ever get this on the road and it plays well, the category it is in doesn't matter all that much at the end of the day.

[Nico]

I was afraid that would be the answer. I am not sure if I would be happy to have something that is basically an action-adventure thrown into the same category as explicit gore and tentacle moster ... (fill in the blank), as it might get lost among the threads with 'extreme' sexual content, but I will - of course - abide by your ruling. I suppose if I ever get this on the road and it plays well, the category it is in doesn't matter all that much at the end of the day.

It really is the safest option, in my opinion. And yes, in the end, it doesn't really matter where it is, as long as you and your writing partner are having a good time. Of course, not everything on the adult boards must have sexual content in any manner.

[Oniya]

You could always put [EX - rated for gore] in the title of the first post.

[Cassandra LeMay]

You could always put [EX - rated for gore] in the title of the first post.

True, but if this gets off the ground it will probably (or hopefully) be a small group game. The more people involved, the higher the chances someone might forget to put a warning in the topic title. In a one-on-one that might well work, but for a group game it might be something that can slip through the cracks, once in a while. Better to go with a category that covers all the angles than overlook something.

[Nico]

True, but if this gets off the ground it will probably (or hopefully) be a small group game. The more people involved, the higher the chances someone might forget to put a warning in the topic title. In a one-on-one that might well work, but for a group game it might be something that can slip through the cracks, once in a while. Better to go with a category that covers all the angles than overlook something.

If you are the GM - you are making the threads.

[Cassandra LeMay]

If you are the GM - you are making the threads.

I guess that depends. Lets say I give everyone a thread where they can post what happens in their home. If two players interact in the "Character XYZ's House" thread it's up to them to keep things in line, far as I am concerned. I can't always look over everyone's shoulder and check what they are doing. Of course I would read those threads, to keep abreast of what is happening in the game, but I might not catch everything that happens at the exact moment it happens. The whole idea of GM-ing a forum game is pretty new to me, even if I have been admin of a very small RP forum, but new place, new rules, so I guess the best thing is to play the "better safe than sorry" card right from the start.

[Rhedyn]

I guess that depends. Lets say I give everyone a thread where they can post what happens in their home. If two players interact in the "Character XYZ's House" thread it's up to them to keep things in line, far as I am concerned. I can't always look over everyone's shoulder and check what they are doing. Of course I would read those threads, to keep abreast of what is happening in the game, but I might not catch everything that happens at the exact moment it happens. The whole idea of GM-ing a forum game is pretty new to me, even if I have been admin of a very small RP forum, but new place, new rules, so I guess the best thing is to play the "better safe than sorry" card right from the start.

Assuming you give everyone a thread for their 'home' as long as you create the threads yourself then you can control what goes into the title of that thread and tag them as Oniya suggested. If you are going to allow people to do whatever they want sexually and violence wise, within the site rules of course, then it would be safest to put the threads in the Extreme section.

[Oniya]

Alternatively, you could put in a rule that any torture/dismemberment must happen under a 'fade to black'.  For example:

The scene took on a surrealistic quality as Corwin realized that his captors really meant that they'd get the information by any means necessary.  Surely there were limits?  This rash hope faded as two burly men-at-arms took him in hand and dragged him through the musty hallway to a room that smelled of copper and fear. 

When he woke, his mind had mercifully erased the details of what they had done, but the sodden bandage at the end of his leg attested to the depths of their sincerity.  He wondered if he'd been able to keep his secrets.