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Content Types & Voice Guidelines

Safety & Policy Pages

Requirements:

  • Always use direct, out-of-character language.

  • No decorative fonts or immersive styling.

  • Prominent visual indicators.

  • Clear headings and bullet points.

  • No ambiguity or roleplay elements.

  • Always link the proper Marshal(s) to contact with any questions.

Rules Pages

Primary Voice: Clear, direct, out-of-character text

How to Structure Them:

  • Start with the mechanical info players need.

  • Use "you" language ("You can..." instead of "Players may...").

  • When referring to spells, use “the caster” and “the target” terminology.

  • Put examples in their own sections.

  • Save flavor text for specific spots (intros or special boxes).

Adding Flavor Text:

  • Put it in blockquotes or italics.

  • Label it clearly (like "From the journal of Jace Flynn:").

  • Never let flavor contradict the actual rules.

Example:

"You don’t have to remember which spells you know if you just know them all." - Enzo Belli


To cast a spell, you must:

  1. Have the appropriate skill.
  2. Speak the incant clearly.
  3. Have the power points needed.

Lore Pages

Primary Voice: Write like you're a scholar or historian in the game world.

Tips:

  • Write as if you're documenting real history or culture

  • Past tense for things that happened

  • Present tense for how things are now

  • Keep the same narrator voice throughout each article

Tone Examples:

  • Put something here idk

Hybrid Content

For pages that mix rules and lore (like character species):

Standard Layout:

  1. Quick in-character flavor text if desired (italics)

  2. Game mechanics (clear OOC text)

  3. Culture & Society section (IC scholarly voice)

  4. Costume requirements (OOC practical info)

  5. Gameplay tips (OOC helpful advice)

Inside Jokes and Humor

We aim to be fun and engaging- we want people to actually read the Wiki! Humor is welcome, but it must be used in a way that supports clarity or immersion.

 

1. Safety and Policy Pages

Do not use humor on these pages. Safety and policy pages must be direct, clear, and unambiguous. Our "fun and engaging” voice stops here to ensure information is understood without any distraction or confusion.

 

2. Rules Pages (OOC Voice)

It's great to use a "conversational but clear" voice to make dense rules explanations or interactions easier to read. Humorous headings and examples are perfect for framing a rule's purpose, especially for edge cases. Only use humor in the framing (the headings/examples), not in the actual description of a skill or spell. Those core descriptions must always be direct and unambiguous to avoid confusion.

Examples of good OOC humor:

  • "Oh shit oh shit oh shit": Some very rare creatures can see through the Dissipated condition and may attack you while you are dissipated. They will communicate this by saying 'No Effect!' or 'Grounding!' in response to your call of 'Dissipate!', usually while stabbing you repeatedly.

  • Practical applications: Find people who are hiding, detect potential ambushes, find your unconscious friend who was dragged off into the woods, the Great Jace Chase of 1601, cheating at hide and seek.


3. Lore Pages (IC Voice)

This is where the "in-world scholar" voice comes in. Humor must be framed as an in-world observation, not an OOC note.

Example of good IC humor: 

  • "Herbalists have noted that elves seem to have a fondness for rosemary, displaying a reaction after ingesting it that scholars have compared to a feline's reaction to catnip."

Avoid: 

  • "Elves really love rosemary. It's basically weed for them, LOL.”


4. Hybrid Pages

This one is simple: follow the voice of the section you're in.

  • In OOC sections (like "Game Mechanics" or "Costuming Requirements"), you can use conversational but clear OOC humor . 

  • In IC sections (like the "Culture & Society" intro), use in-world scholar humor.

Community Contributions

As an editor, your focus is on the official rules, lore, and policy pages. Community content, such as the Character Journals, are handled differently.


1. Act as a Player, Not a Moderator

When you are on community pages (like blogs) you are acting as a player, not an editor.

  • It is not your job to enforce rules or "correct" other players in comment sections.

  • Avoid engaging in public arguments or behavior that could be seen as you "pulling rank" or acting in an official capacity.

  • If you see a comment that violates a major Novitas policy (like harassment or real-world threats), do not engage. Report it directly to a First Marshal for review.

2. Do Not Curate Personal Blogs

Players are responsible for the content of their own personal blogs. As an 18+ game, we do not gate this content. Your role is not to edit, curate, or moderate another player's personal blog (no matter how badly you may want to fix their typos).

  • If you see content on a personal blog that you believe violates a major Novitas policy (such as harassment or real-world threats), do not engage. Report the page directly to a First Marshal  for review.


3. Respect Image Permissions

As an Editor, you have permission to upload images–this is the only role besides Admin that can do so. This is a key responsibility because images can chew up a lot of server space. As a result, any image uploaded to the Wiki must have a clear and necessary purpose.

  • This permission is granted only for adding necessary images to official rule, lore, and policy pages.

  • You may not use your editing permissions to upload images to your own personal  blog or any other community page. This ensures fairness and keeps the wiki's file system clean.


Editors seen abusing any of their privileges will have them revoked.

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