Listed below are guidelines and general information for Stargate Ancient Legacy. Whether you are an existing player or someone looking to apply, this should be your first stop. Any person wanting to apply to Stargate Ancient Legacy should read this page before sending an application. Any application that does not follow these guidelines will be rejected and need to be resubmitted in its entirety before it will be processed.

If you have any questions that are not addressed on this page, please contact
Ancient Legacy Management (questions@sgancientlegacy.com)
and we will answer your question generally within 24 hours.

When you've read the rules, feel free to apply to join.

Things you Should Know:

This section is dedicated to general knowledge you need to have before you apply to this game.
Please read this section carefully as it is strictly enforced.

Age Limit: The first thing you need to know about this game is that it is open to players 17 years or older. If you are younger than 17, please do not submit an application as it will be rejected immediately. If an applicant or current player is found to be under 17 and they have lied on their application, they will be immediately removed from the game without any warning.

RPG Rating: If you're still reading, this is the reason for the 17+ age limit. he rating of this RPG is R. In other words, if you can't get in to see an R rated movie, you can't get into this RPG. The reason for this is because some of the content is not appropriate for anyone under this age. That being said, while posts can push the limits in this RPG more than others, keep it tasteful.

Post Monitoring: This applies to the previous two rules. As the GM, I will be watching posts to make sure they remain appropriate for the age limit and rating, however, I am only one person so the Assistant GMs and your Commanding Officer will be watching as well.

Chain of Command: Seeing as how show this RPG was originally based on was centered around a military installation (Stargate SG-1), a military chain of command style should be familiar to most of its fans. This RPG adheres to a similar structure in the way it is run.

GM: Vince
Asst GMs: Marie
Your Team's Commanding Officer (CO)
Your Team's Second in Command (Or Branch CO)
Your Character's Superiors (Determined by Military/Civilian Rank)

All teams in Stargate Ancient Legacy can consist of civilian and military members. On Atlantis civilians can serve as a CO or 2IC, but a member of the military will serve in the other command role. At the SGC, both command officers must be in the military.

Character Rules:

If you're still reading and haven't been scared off at this point, you're braver than most. just kidding ;). At this point, however, you're probably wondering what you need to know before you create a character for this RPG. This section should be read to assist you in that character creation and avoid unnecessary delays in the process of your application.

Character Limits: All new players are allowed one character to start. There are no exceptions. After a period of time (usually 3 to 6 months), if a player has adhered to all posting guidelines, they may request to create a second character for a squad other than the one where their current character serves.

Military Rank: In all cases rank for military characters will be assigned by the management staff. In most cases new characters will be assigned as 2nd Lieutenants (Army, USAF, USMC), Ensigns (Navy) or equivalent (Non-US military). While there are exceptions where a player may start at a higher rank, no new player will be assigned to a squad where they outrank an existing player. A player with a shorter tenure in the game, however, can be promoted over a more senior member if it is deemed appropriate by the Team's CO.

Civilians: While civilians do not hold military rank, they usually make up for it in more advance schooling and degrees. While we encourage players to create their characters with a strong educational background (on the premise the best of the best will be chosen for assignment), please keep in mind that some things are physically and mentally improbable. For example, there are not many 22 year olds who hold a PhD in Astrophysics. The following chart is a guideline for assigning degrees. Deviations that are within reason will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Bachelor's of Arts or Science (BA, BS) - 3 to 5 years
Masters of Arts or Science (MA, MS) - 1.5 to 4 years after BA or BS in that field
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - 2 to 4 years after MA or MS in that field.

Squad Assignment: Just like with rank, RPG management will assign you to a squad. The decision will be based on several criteria including, but not limited to:

Which teams have openings - Look under the field teams section of the website to see which squads are open.
The character's job or field of expertise versus the team's needs - If the team is a diplomatic team, it will probably have more than one diplomat and not as many weapons specialists and a medical team will probably have more than one medic or doctor and probably no more than one computer specialist
The rank/seniority of the existing members of the team

Becoming a CO or 2IC: On Atlantis, all characters, whether civilian or military are eligible for command positions, so any player can earn their way up to these roles. And they key word there is earn. These positions are not given to anyone. They are earned by players who stick to the rules, encourage team play and make the game more fun for the players around them. Team members who meet these characteristics are considered by senority for 2IC positions. All command positions with the SGC must be military personnel. All COs are taken from existing 2ICs.

Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1 Main Characters: The Stargate: Atlantis and SG-1 characters are considered NPCs. Do not attempt to apply to play one of these characters. With the exception of Dr. Weir or General Landry, you may include them in your posts as long as it is appropriate and there is no need for approval of their use. The interaction will be subject to the same monitoring rules as above.

Dr. Weir and General Landry are also NPCs, but their interactions in posts, must be approved by either the GM or Asst. GM. Weir and Landry must be included in all of their respective mission briefings. (I.E. All mission briefing posts must be approved by a GM or Asst. GM)

Posting Rules:

This section deals with the posting guidelines of this RPG. Adherence to these rules is a big determining factor in promotion, offers of command and approval of more than one character.

Posting Frequency: There are four classes of characters with different posting rules for each.

Base characters: required to post once per quarter.

Casual characters: required to post every other week and submit at least 2 posts a month.

Traditional characters (while on a mission): required to post every other week but need to submit a total of 4 posts a month.

Command characters (while on a mission): required to post every week and submit a total of 4 posts a month.

Traditional and Command characters whose teams are not currently on mission are required to post every other week but only need to submit 2 posts every month.

New players will start as base, casual or traditional. Pick the class that best suits your ability to commit time

All posts must adhere to the rest of the guidelines below to count for that week. That being said, this is a game and the players and management in this game will understand if something in real life comes up. If you will be away for an extended period of time, please let your CO or 2IC know ahead of time so we know to write around your character. If you so choose, you may also give temporary custody of the character to another player with management approval.

Players who are not on leave of absence are expected to keep up with the posting requirements. Below is the time table for players who have not posted a post that counts toward the requirements. At any time if the players requests Leave of Absence, the character's position is frozen at that point until the player's return. For instance if a player requests LOA after not posting for six weeks, they will be removed from involuntary LOA, but will not be placed on a squad until they return from LOA.

Strike System: For each occurence that a player does not adhere to the above guidelines, they are accessed a strike. Strikes last for three months after which time they expire and are removed from the player's record.

Players acculmuate strikes in one of two ways. 1.) They do not adhere to the weekly or biweekly posting requirement or 2.) They do not meet the minimum monthly requirement. Players can only acculmuate one strike in any given week with one exception. In the last week of the month, if a player misses the weekly or bi-weekly requirement and is two or more posts short of the monthly minimum, they are accessed two strikes during that week.

If multiple strikes are assessed over a 12 week period, they will accululate with the following consequences:

1st Strike:Your CO and 2IC are notified you were assessed a strike.

2nd Strike:Your CO and 2IC will send you a warning you have been assessed a second strike. You are now on notice that any further strikes could restrict any privledges in the game.

3rd Strike:You are no longer considered for additional characters or command positions.

4th Strike:You will recieve notice from me that you are on probation. You will lose any existing command characters and will be required to post at least one post a week until you fall below 4 strikes. Failure to do so will result in a fifth strike.

5th Strike+:You will lose one of your field team characters for the 5th and each subsequent strike that is 5th or above. You cannot add any additional characters until you are below 3 strikes. If your last field team character is removed, you will be asked to contact me within 2 weeks to communicate your desire to continue in the game. If you do not do so, you will be removed from the game. The player is free to return after being removed once for non-posting. If the player is removed again for any reason, they will not be allowed to return.

We're not trying to be mean. We only take these measures to ensure the game is fun and fair to those who are posting. If there is any reason you cannot post, simply contact your CO so we know. The reason need not be given to the CO.

Posting Length: There is not maximum or minimum length for a post. There are general guidelines by which each post will be judged, however. If a post makes moderate advancement in the squad's storyline, in most cases it will be accepted. Typically this is hard to do in less than 300 words. That is not to say posts that posts less than 300 words will not be accepted, however, generally they will not count towards the minimum number of posts.

Also keep in mind the longer the post, the harder it is for others to remain involved in the storyline. Try to refrain from single post or joint posts longer than 3,000 words. The exception to this is joint posts involving your entire team. They may be as long as you wish.

Joint Posts: Joint posts are encouraged during missions. That being said, no one is required to do them. You are welcome to post only single posts while you are a part of this game.

A couple of guidelines for posts that contain actions or dialogue from more than one character. If the impact is minimal (i.e. the other character acknowledges an order or says something benign) then no approval is required. However, if the dialogue or actions expresses any emotions, beliefs or if the character is used extensively, one of two things must happen. Either the post must be sent to the character's player for approval or the two players must collaborate on a JP. Any posts that do not adhere to this guideline will be pulled and ignored.

Required elements of posts: All posts must contain the following elements -

A title
The squad or squads for which the post is intended
Moderate advancement of the squad's storyline
Character signature

The subject of each post should contain the title and the squad or characters who should read the post with the squad going first. The characters involved in the post can also be added here, but it is not required.

Examples:
If the post is from a team member on a team called Bravo Team, the subject should look similar to this:-
Attn: Bravo Team - Mama said there would be days like these

If the post is from a character called Smith on a team called Charlie Team and should be read by a character name Mason, the subject could look like this:
Charlie Team, Mason - All's well that end's well ~ Smith

Advancement of the storyline is determined by the posting guidelines above.

Character signatures should contain three elements and be placed at the end of every post for all characters involved in the post. The character's name and rank/senority, the character's team and the character's position/job. These may be in any order

Example 1:

Example 2:

Also, the post MUST include your character in a significant way. Posting for an NPC will NOT count towards your requirement.

Leave of Absence: Players who will be unable to meet the weekly posting requirement for two weeks or more, need to request a leave of absence from their CO. This allows you to retain your place on your squad while you are away. It also reduces your posting requirement for the month.

Traditional / Command Players
4 - 10 days - Only 3 post required
11 - 17 days - Only 2 posts required
18 - 24 days - Only 1 post required
25 - 31 days - No posts required
31+ days - Player is moved to base until they return

Casual Players
11 - 24 days - Only 1 post required
25 - 31 days - No posts required
31+ days - Players is moved to base until return

Requirements to have an approved LOA are as follows:
1.) Contact your CO and either the GM or aGM.
2.) Include the term 'LOA' in the subject.
3.) An estimated amount of time you will be unable to post. Please be as specific as possible. As long as the LOA is approved, it will be automatically extended past your date for a reasonable amount of time, however, if it is several days beyond, you will be contacted.
4.) Request MUST by made by Thursday if being made for the current week.

Not required but preferred:
1.) Use your team OOC board to make the LOA request (this fulfills requirement 1 and 2 if LOA is in the subject)
2.) If you don't use the OOC board, include your 2IC 3.) Include a reason. Please note, a reason is not required, however, it's helpful. If it's an emergency, either family or medical, please let us know (the details do not need to be shared) and you can request an LOA for the week through Saturday.

In addition, you are required to submit a post the first full week after your LOA.

Questions: If you have any questions not covered here in these guidelines, don't hesitate to contact the Ancient Legacy Management.

We look forward to you joining us and hope you have fun!