This site-wide trigger warning is a blanket way to cover the preexisting members and to inform any potential member of the possibility of triggering content on HA. Everything covered here is also laid out in our Rules and Expectations and Site Objectives.

Please be informed, the community of Heir Apparent is a unique roleplay experience that is not for everyone. We heavily prioritize organic roleplaying, which means less OOC planning and more going with the IC flow, and we heavily emphasize the emulation of reality and member-driven plots. Due to this, please note: characters can spread lies about other characters, attack other characters, dislike other characters, abuse other characters, try to kill other characters, or otherwise negatively impact the characters around them without the permission of other members on the site.

As members striving to maintain realism on HA, be prepared for the effects your characters' actions cause, and make sure they are consequences you can live with from an OOC standpoint. Do not make a warrior that you insert into battle threads if you, OOC, cannot stomach what the consequences of your character possibly facing a far more powerful enemy might mean. The member with the more powerful character does not need to ask your permission to play their character the way they choose to. On HA, each writer only has control over their respective character(s). You inserting the character into this world is you agreeing to seek to emulate reality with your character in this story, and to rock out to what unfolds.

Some of you, especially those who have been roleplaying for years, may be taken aback by this approach. This isn't how roleplay sites typically go. Usually members consent to everything, be it something as big as a traumatic occurrence or as small as an attempt at a kiss. You are exactly right--which is why we cannot stress enough that Heir Apparent is not a site for everyone. For some, the thought of not controlling every aspect of their characters' lives induces anxiety. We acknowledge that, respect that, and sincerely encourage you to find a site that better fits your comfort levels. The established community on Heir Apparent, however, loves the thrill of having no control. We collectively celebrate the plot twists we didn't see, the changed lives of our characters because of a single reply. We do not play our characters according to a decided story, but instead let the characters do the determining within each thread and interaction. This is the heart of organic roleplaying. It guarantees life-like twists, encourages members to let go of expecting control, and demands flexibility. This is why we adamantly encourage those who cannot embrace this concept to pass over our site and find something more fitting to their needs.

The key to being able to enjoy organic roleplaying is to consciously maintain a separation between ourselves as the member and the character(s) that we write. We consider roleplaying to be a game, thus the things done IC to our characters are not personal attacks on us as members. The contrast of right and wrong and the conflict that ensues is celebrated because it makes for good storytelling. We on HA actively strive to maintain a trust between writers, understanding that we need one another to write in this format. We can hate how a story unfolds, hate what a character does, and even hate the way a character develops, as that is our prerogative as individuals. What we do not do is demand that other members' characters only act, move, and speak according to our personal comfort level. Such control cannot be attained in real life, thus, in our efforts to maintain realism, we do not expect it here in this writing game.