SETTING: UNOVR, THE GAME

VIRTUAL REALITY IS JUST A WORLDSCREEN AWAY

Your characters exist in the present-day Real World, where a new POKEMON game spinoff has just been released on Nintendo’s brand-new VR console, the Nintendo WorldScreen. The game, UNOVR, is a reimagining of the Gen 5 games in an open-world, RPG-style virtual setting. The game is produced by Hydance, a third-party company with headquarters based in North America. As of May 2022, the developers completed beta testing and the game was officially released on the international market.

Your character will play a video game version of themselves, which can take many different forms. This will be your character on-site for all game-related purposes. This will be referred to as the Player Character.

Your character’s Player Character may be identical to their real selves or completely different. They may effectively be a idealized self-insert, or a new role or alter ego that character enjoys stepping into. This Player Character will be the majority of your posts and interactions on this website, though you may also roleplay real-life situations if desired in the Offline board!

Despite mostly lighthearted Pokémon gameplay, UNOVR also focuses on serious themes common to VR and science fiction settings. The nature of reality, what makes someone human, morality in a virtual world, and the rights of AI are all central themes that confront some of the more contentious issues in the Pokémon series.

One thing is sure: only you can make it happen.

OOC RULES

• Please be polite and considerate to other players and the staff, both in and out of character! We will especially not tolerate hostile "meta" content where in-character posts are weaponized to gripe, harass, or insult other people.

• One forum account per IC character.

• We are a paragraph-style roleplay. There is no minimum wordcount, but you are expected to write at least one paragraph per post, even in solo or catching threads.

• Our site is balanced around the weekend roleplayer—someone who posts once or twice a week, if even that much! Daily posting is not encouraged or expected (except during timed events.) If you post even once a week, you will automatically receive our Universal Basic Income (UBI) of 100 BYTES.

• Players must make their posts easy to read. For accessibility reasons, we (1) do not allow the use of IC post templates, and (2) encourage players to either bold or color their character's dialogue for easy reading. Most people use a standard blockquote tag, which automatically applies color formatting to bolded text.

• There are no Activity Checks on this site. That said, please communicate your absence/hiatus if possible! Inactive Faceclaims may be removed or given away if another player expresses interest in them. 

• Other players' codes, plots, characters, and ideas are considered their unique property. Please ask permission before borrowing or taking inspiration from another player's content! We take content theft very seriously, so please try to be self-aware.

• Needless to say, you may not use any of our original content outside of this setting without explicit permission, including as a basis for your own website, commercial or creative projects, or for training AI.

• UNOVR has many opportunities for solo play! In many cases, you may freely double-post and reply to yourself as long as you're filling the thread requirements. One exception is Tutorial Mode, which must be completed with another player.
  

• Powerplaying (controlling another person's character in your narrative or assuming success of actions under hazardous circumstances) is not permitted. That said, Pokemon Attacks on this site always hit, so it's safe to assume this fact.

• Godmoding (refusing to let your character be affected by any obstacles, threats or consequences) is also not permitted. You are not invulnerable! Try to communicate with mods/rp partners to reach a narratively satisfying compromise.  

• Faceclaim art must be 2D and humanoid. We encourage using animanga faceclaims, but 2D art of real-life or video game characters may be deemed acceptable. Original art or characters are also accepted. 

IC RULES

• Almost all content on this forum is technically IN-CHARACTER, including Upgrades, Skill Trees, BYTES, Codex Entries, the Kickstarter, and so on. System Admin and C0D13 moderate your User Interface both in-game and OOC.

• This world is not static! Places you love may change, disappear, or be altered by other players. We encourage you to think of this as an impetus to explore and worldbuild in new Areas. On the same note, UNOVR has a planned ending. Nothing lasts forever, and UNOVR's story will last four seasons (currently on season 2).

• UNOVR (our website) is canonically set in the North American Server (includes Canada & Central America). It is possible to use a proxy to join the server from a different country, but the default language is English.

• The game is officially only playable via Nintendo WorldScreen, Nintendo's (fictional) deep-dive VR console. By design, players should experience full sensory immersion while in the game. However, it is possible to possess "hacked" versions of the game for other consoles, such as handheld or traditional VR. 

• Due to privacy concerns, UNOVR cannot be streamed and recording any footage is banned. It is also not possible to take screenshots or video clips in game.
  

• Small, aesthetic animal features (horns, animal/elf ears) are acceptable on Player Characters, but are cosmetic, not actually functional. Having cat ears does not actually grant enhanced hearing, etc.
  
  
• Similarly, deadly weapons (like swords, guns, etc) are cosmetic-only and cannot be used in-game. Your Pokemon are your true weapons! 
  
  
• All Pokémon are a standard species model by default. Special cosmetic items may be used to augment a Pokemon's appearance.

• Pokemon will not attack Player Characters. PVP (attempting to hurt or kill another player) is heavily restricted in-game, though there are technically ways around this. (OOC, we strongly frown on PVP unless you have a mutual friendship with the other party).

• Underage real-life players have the option to automatically censor M-Rated content such as violence, blood and gore, and/or strong language.

• The max number of Pokemon in your character's active party is 6, but they can still freely switch Pokemon in and out from their UI. Just don't mention all 50 of your Pokemon running around in the same scene.

• Players may not fly (via Pokemon or otherwise). This is standard in most MMOs! If you try to ride a 'flying' Pokemon, it will not be able to carry you higher than about 10 feet.

• Player Characters cannot die, only White Out. When that happens depends on the individual's Pain Threshold settings. Players who White Out due to injury will be temporarily signed out of the game and will need to log back in before resuming from the last Shrine they visited.

• Players will also White Out when all of their Pokemon are KO'ed.
  

• Players who White Out have a chance of having one of their Pokemon sent to the Everworld, where they must undergo a special trial to get their Pokemon back. This is typically voluntary on the RPer's part: please post in Mod Requests after a whiteout if you'd like to visit the UNOVR afterlife!