The WWF: The Golden Era Rulebook
Sept 27, 2020 0:41:45 GMT -6
Post by Vince McMahon on Sept 27, 2020 0:41:45 GMT -6
THE WWF RULEBOOK
GETTING STARTED
ACCOUNT CREATION
When registering with the WWF, please sign up as the name of your chosen character. For example, if you plan to portray Vader, sign up with the username vader. Many are not used to the ProBoards system and I have received numerous questions on the process. If you do not already have a ProBoards account with your username, It will ask for one when you sign up. THIS IS NOT YOUR DISPLAYED NAME FOR THE FED. Also, ProBoards does not allow spaces in their usernames. For example, I want to sign up as Cactus Jack, but I have no ProBoards account with my email. I will sign up with the username cactusjack. Then once I am logged in to the fed here, I'll go in to the profile tab and click EDIT PROFILE on the right. That will give you all of the options of things you can change as it pertains to your account here. To change my name, I would go to Personal. Within this tab you can change your display name. It's there I would change it to Cactus Jack. We also ask that while you are in this tab you scroll down to the bottom and fill out the info on your character, right past the "personal notes" field. From, Height, Weight, Alignment (Face/Heel), Manager (If you don't have one just put N/A), and Portrayed By (your name). These fields help us keep up with who is handling which characters, which managers are in use, etc.
If you wish to portray a tag team, please sign up as the official name used by the team (such as roadwarriors or legionofdoom if you want to be Hawk and Animal). If they did not have an 'official' team name, such as 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty, you are welcome to create a tag team name, as long as it is original. You are also welcome to sign up with two individual accounts for the team; so one account called 123kid, and one called martyjannetty. Note, however, that ProBoards requires a different email address for each account.
Registered accounts that have not posted a WWF contract within 48 hours will be deleted. Please be ready to post your contract when you sign up.
CONTRACT APPLICATION
Please ensure you copy the contract template code at the bottom of the contract post and post your contract in a new topic.
You must fill out every section of the contract. Any incomplete applications will not be approved until they are 100% complete.
Your sample roleplay does not have to be of the character you are signed up as.
Please allow time for the WWF: The Golden Era staff to review your application; we promise we will get to it as soon as possible.
YOU AND YOUR CHARACTERS
CHARACTER LIMITS
New members to the fed whom we are not familiar with from either another fed or a previous stint here are currently limited to one singles wrestler or tag team. Once activity has been proven and you have shown for your first match, you will be allowed to add either another singles wrestler if you control a tag team, or a singles wrestler or tag team if you control a singles wrestler.
Create A Wrestlers
CAWs ARE NOT ALLOWED in WWF: The Golden Era. Sorry!
REAL SUPERSTARS
WWF: The Golden Era has a strict sign-up policy when it comes to which characters are allowed.
For MALE talent, only males who debuted in the WWF, WCW, ECW or another major promotion or territory before November 9th, 1997 (The day the Attitude Era officially began) are accepted.
For FEMALE talent, only females who debuted in the wrestling business before November 9th, 1997 are accepted.
If they performed on the indies before joining a major company, such as the WWF, WCW or ECW, or later, WWE or TNA, you MUST use their indies name and gimmick.
This ruling only applies to female characters, as female talent in this era is far more limited than male talent.
When signing up, you are permitted to use any ring name that has been used by the wrestler before this date.
For example, you may sign up as Mankind or Cactus Jack.
Because of this, it is important to check the TAKEN TALENT post to ensure your character is not already taken under a different gimmick name to the one you plan to use.
Please post in the GUEST LOUNGE if you are unsure about whether your character will be accepted before you register.
TAG TEAMS
As mentioned above, you are very much welcome to sign up as a Tag Team, such as the Legion of Doom or the Hart Foundation.
Your tag team will either be booked on the show in tag team matches, or one member of the team will be in singles competition.
In certain rare events we may book both tag members in singles matches. We will attempt to contact you and get your approval on this before doing so.
We would ideally like your chosen tag team to have been an 'official' tag team in the WWF, WCW, ECW, AWA, etc. to be eligible.
However, please check with a WWF staff member in the GUEST LOUNGE as we may be lenient on this.
Please post in the GUEST LOUNGE if you are unsure about whether your team will be accepted before you register.
If two existing members wish to form a tag team, please contact me over PM.
MANAGERS
You are welcome to sign with the WWF alongside a manager for your character, as indicated on the contract template.
Please check the Taken Managers post stickied in the TAKEN TALENT board to ensure your chosen Manager is not already in use.
Existing WWF Superstars may also request a manager addition at any time by contacting Vince McMahon through PM.
Manager requests will be approved on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Member activity should be proven before requesting a manager addition if you did not do so during your registration and contract signing.
If your desired manager was also an active competitor in the timeframe of the fed, please post in the GUEST LOUNGE to check whether you can use him/her as a Manager.
THEME MUSIC
When you first sign with the WWF, we expect your character/tag team to use any of their themes from before November 9th, 1997.
As your develop your character(s) and time elapses, we will allow you to use a future theme your character(s) have used since this date.
Only official WWF, WCW, ECW, AWA, etc. themes used by your character(s) are allowed. This is to keep the E-Fed realistic and authentic.
We really don't want to see Roddy Piper trying to use 'Cult of Personality' or Sting coming out to 'Ace of Spades'!
CHANGES OF CHARACTER
A change of character will likely be allowed at any time.
However, if your character is involved in a storyline or holds a championship, we expect you to finish up the storyline/drop the championship before switching.
You will need to post a new WWF contract if you do decide to switch character, and it must still be approved by WWF staff to be confirmed.
FACTIONS/STABLES
The formation of factions/stables is very much welcomed in WWF: The Golden Era.
Partnering up with other members often greatly helps creative ideas for both you and the WWF staff!
Factions are limited to a maximum of five members, excluding managers.
'Original' factions such as the Four Horsemen are encouraged, but must contain at least two original major members.
For example, you can re-form the Horsemen if you control Ric Flair or Arn Anderson, but not if you just control Paul Roma! Although we're not sure why you ever would...
'New' factions are also encouraged, but cannot use future faction names, such as Evolution or Nexus. Be original!
All faction/stable formations must be confirmed by a WWF staff member before they are considered officially formed. Please PM me if you wish to form a faction.
Faction names will be approved on a first come, first serve basis.
MATCHES AND ROLEPLAYS
WORD LIMITS
WWF: The Golden Era greatly believes in quality over quantity. Word limits help to reduce burnout, avoids a situation where one member writes 1000 words and another writes 4000, putting the 1000 word roleplay at a disadvantage, and promotes quality over quantity for the sake of quantity.
We have the following general word limits for shows and pay-per-view events.
Regular Match: 1000 Words Per Superstar
Regular Tag Team Match: 750 Words Per Superstar (1500 if you control both members)
European Title Match: 1000 Words Per Superstar
Intercontinental Title Match: 1250 Words Per Superstar
World Title Match: 1500 Words Per Superstar
Title Tag Team Match: 1000 Words Per Superstar (2000 if you control both members)
Any changes or differences in these general limits will be clearly indicated on the show's match card.
If all competitors in a match want to increase/decrease the word limit, please contact Vince McMahon to have this approved.
We will allow a maximum leniency of 100 words over a word limit to finish up a scene on a case-by-case basis - if this leniency is abused on a regular basis by individuals, any words over the limit will be disregarded by the judging team.
NO SHOWS
No-showing a match in WWF: The Golden Era without prior reason will result in immediate contract and account termination.
It is completely unfair to your opponent(s) who have put in the work for your match and cannot be tolerated.
If you know in advance that you cannot compete on a card, please post in the LEAVE OF ABSENCE section so we know not to book you.
No-shows will be allowed to re-join WWF: The Golden Era, providing a reasonable explanation for the no-show is provided.
If this is the case, you re-join on the understanding that your original character may now be taken by somebody else.
NUMBER OF ROLEPLAYS
WWF: The Golden Era has a one roleplay per match policy.
This includes single member controlled tag teams - your roleplay for both of your tag team members should be incorporated into one post, and not two separate posts/roleplays.
LATE ENTRIES & EDITS
All match roleplay topics are locked once the deadline has passed.
If you do have a roleplay written but fail to post before the deadline, please contact Vince McMahon and send him your roleplay and reason for missing the deadline.
It is at the discretion of WWF staff as to whether we accept your late roleplay or not.
Roleplays may be edited at any time up until the topic is locked for coding and grammatical corrections.
Roleplays may not be added to once posted.
The WWF staff have access to post logs showing every edit made, so you will be caught! Don't risk it. Make sure you're ready to post before you post.
"ANGLE-DRIVEN" MATCHES
If you are part of a major storyline in the WWF, there may be a time where your match result is determined due to the storyline.
For example, a match may be ended by disqualification, count out etc. if your storyline rival interferes.
If an agreement cannot be reached, the storyline involved may need to be revised, or even dropped.
Stories are the life and soul of E-Fed's, so it is expected that you give us the control and freedom to work with this.
WE WILL NEVER BOOK ANGLED WINNERS. This is a practice I absolutely despise. Winners will ALWAYS be based on the quality of writing submitted, only the actual finish (countout, DQ, etc.) will be "angled".
TITLE REMATCH CLAUSES
WWF: The Golden Era does not allow title rematch clauses.
This is to avoid the same participants sending a championship back and forth between each other, and gives new competition the chance to get involved in the title picture.
Once a Championship has been lost, you are more than welcome to stay involved in the title picture, but will be competing with other WWF talent for a title match and will not receive a rematch.
Any rematch for a championship will be earned through a number one contendership match.
MATCH DECISIONS
Winners of matches are determined by a team of judges.
Match results will never be determined by one single person, and will always be impartial and unbiased.
In singles/multi-man matches, roleplays will ranked from best to worst (it doesn't sound right saying worst, as there's never a 'bad' roleplay!) with the roleplay deemed the best being victorious.
If you end up being 'worst' - please don't assume your roleplay was bad, it 100% wasn't.
There always has to be a winner(s) and a loser(s).
Tag team match results are judged on the equal contribution of both team members. The team with the highest two roleplays when ranked will get the win. For example:
1st: Hawk
2nd: Smash
3rd: Animal
4th: Ax
Hawk and Animal will get the win, as their roleplays were highest in the rank order.
The same system applies for six-man tag team matches and above.
If you would like some feedback on a roleplay, the judging team will happily provide it in the LOCKER ROOM sub-forum, either publicly or privately.
Key things the judges look for in a roleplay, alongside quality writing and character portrayal/development, include perfect spelling and grammar and good coding (colors, line spacing, media).
It cannot be stressed enough that negative behaviour regarding a match defeat, both in the CBox and the forum, will not be tolerated.
ROLEPLAY CONTENT
Excessive swearing (f*ck and sh*t every other sentence), graphic sexual content and graphic violent content is not permitted.
If you think you might have gone a bit OTT - you probably have!
Check with Vince McMahon or any WWF staff if you're planning to write something that may come close to 'the line'.
Your roleplays should be as relevant to your character, storyline and match as possible; if you're portraying Big Bossman but are typing like Hulk Hogan, it's not going to go well.
Knowing your character and their history, mannerisms, body language and speech is incredibly important.
Do your research and 'know' the character you're portraying.
Your roleplays should build anticipation, suspense and excitement towards your match and/or storyline - failing to relate to the match/storyline you're in will be costly towards the match result.
Referencing your opponent's already posted roleplay for your match is not allowed, and will result in penalization and/or disqualification.
Use of other characters within your roleplays is definitely encouraged, but you should try and get permission from the other player if you plan to get overly physical.
We would strongly encourage that requests of this nature are not turned down - characters are on the wrong side of attacks and verbal exchanges all the time, both Faces and Heels, so it would be silly to try and 'protect' your character from any interactions.
Get the upper hand one week, and take a beating the next week, it's all in good fun!
GETTING STARTED
ACCOUNT CREATION
When registering with the WWF, please sign up as the name of your chosen character. For example, if you plan to portray Vader, sign up with the username vader. Many are not used to the ProBoards system and I have received numerous questions on the process. If you do not already have a ProBoards account with your username, It will ask for one when you sign up. THIS IS NOT YOUR DISPLAYED NAME FOR THE FED. Also, ProBoards does not allow spaces in their usernames. For example, I want to sign up as Cactus Jack, but I have no ProBoards account with my email. I will sign up with the username cactusjack. Then once I am logged in to the fed here, I'll go in to the profile tab and click EDIT PROFILE on the right. That will give you all of the options of things you can change as it pertains to your account here. To change my name, I would go to Personal. Within this tab you can change your display name. It's there I would change it to Cactus Jack. We also ask that while you are in this tab you scroll down to the bottom and fill out the info on your character, right past the "personal notes" field. From, Height, Weight, Alignment (Face/Heel), Manager (If you don't have one just put N/A), and Portrayed By (your name). These fields help us keep up with who is handling which characters, which managers are in use, etc.
If you wish to portray a tag team, please sign up as the official name used by the team (such as roadwarriors or legionofdoom if you want to be Hawk and Animal). If they did not have an 'official' team name, such as 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty, you are welcome to create a tag team name, as long as it is original. You are also welcome to sign up with two individual accounts for the team; so one account called 123kid, and one called martyjannetty. Note, however, that ProBoards requires a different email address for each account.
Registered accounts that have not posted a WWF contract within 48 hours will be deleted. Please be ready to post your contract when you sign up.
CONTRACT APPLICATION
Please ensure you copy the contract template code at the bottom of the contract post and post your contract in a new topic.
You must fill out every section of the contract. Any incomplete applications will not be approved until they are 100% complete.
Your sample roleplay does not have to be of the character you are signed up as.
Please allow time for the WWF: The Golden Era staff to review your application; we promise we will get to it as soon as possible.
YOU AND YOUR CHARACTERS
CHARACTER LIMITS
New members to the fed whom we are not familiar with from either another fed or a previous stint here are currently limited to one singles wrestler or tag team. Once activity has been proven and you have shown for your first match, you will be allowed to add either another singles wrestler if you control a tag team, or a singles wrestler or tag team if you control a singles wrestler.
Create A Wrestlers
CAWs ARE NOT ALLOWED in WWF: The Golden Era. Sorry!
REAL SUPERSTARS
WWF: The Golden Era has a strict sign-up policy when it comes to which characters are allowed.
For MALE talent, only males who debuted in the WWF, WCW, ECW or another major promotion or territory before November 9th, 1997 (The day the Attitude Era officially began) are accepted.
For FEMALE talent, only females who debuted in the wrestling business before November 9th, 1997 are accepted.
If they performed on the indies before joining a major company, such as the WWF, WCW or ECW, or later, WWE or TNA, you MUST use their indies name and gimmick.
This ruling only applies to female characters, as female talent in this era is far more limited than male talent.
When signing up, you are permitted to use any ring name that has been used by the wrestler before this date.
For example, you may sign up as Mankind or Cactus Jack.
Because of this, it is important to check the TAKEN TALENT post to ensure your character is not already taken under a different gimmick name to the one you plan to use.
Please post in the GUEST LOUNGE if you are unsure about whether your character will be accepted before you register.
TAG TEAMS
As mentioned above, you are very much welcome to sign up as a Tag Team, such as the Legion of Doom or the Hart Foundation.
Your tag team will either be booked on the show in tag team matches, or one member of the team will be in singles competition.
In certain rare events we may book both tag members in singles matches. We will attempt to contact you and get your approval on this before doing so.
We would ideally like your chosen tag team to have been an 'official' tag team in the WWF, WCW, ECW, AWA, etc. to be eligible.
However, please check with a WWF staff member in the GUEST LOUNGE as we may be lenient on this.
Please post in the GUEST LOUNGE if you are unsure about whether your team will be accepted before you register.
If two existing members wish to form a tag team, please contact me over PM.
MANAGERS
You are welcome to sign with the WWF alongside a manager for your character, as indicated on the contract template.
Please check the Taken Managers post stickied in the TAKEN TALENT board to ensure your chosen Manager is not already in use.
Existing WWF Superstars may also request a manager addition at any time by contacting Vince McMahon through PM.
Manager requests will be approved on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Member activity should be proven before requesting a manager addition if you did not do so during your registration and contract signing.
If your desired manager was also an active competitor in the timeframe of the fed, please post in the GUEST LOUNGE to check whether you can use him/her as a Manager.
THEME MUSIC
When you first sign with the WWF, we expect your character/tag team to use any of their themes from before November 9th, 1997.
As your develop your character(s) and time elapses, we will allow you to use a future theme your character(s) have used since this date.
Only official WWF, WCW, ECW, AWA, etc. themes used by your character(s) are allowed. This is to keep the E-Fed realistic and authentic.
We really don't want to see Roddy Piper trying to use 'Cult of Personality' or Sting coming out to 'Ace of Spades'!
CHANGES OF CHARACTER
A change of character will likely be allowed at any time.
However, if your character is involved in a storyline or holds a championship, we expect you to finish up the storyline/drop the championship before switching.
You will need to post a new WWF contract if you do decide to switch character, and it must still be approved by WWF staff to be confirmed.
FACTIONS/STABLES
The formation of factions/stables is very much welcomed in WWF: The Golden Era.
Partnering up with other members often greatly helps creative ideas for both you and the WWF staff!
Factions are limited to a maximum of five members, excluding managers.
'Original' factions such as the Four Horsemen are encouraged, but must contain at least two original major members.
For example, you can re-form the Horsemen if you control Ric Flair or Arn Anderson, but not if you just control Paul Roma! Although we're not sure why you ever would...
'New' factions are also encouraged, but cannot use future faction names, such as Evolution or Nexus. Be original!
All faction/stable formations must be confirmed by a WWF staff member before they are considered officially formed. Please PM me if you wish to form a faction.
Faction names will be approved on a first come, first serve basis.
MATCHES AND ROLEPLAYS
WORD LIMITS
WWF: The Golden Era greatly believes in quality over quantity. Word limits help to reduce burnout, avoids a situation where one member writes 1000 words and another writes 4000, putting the 1000 word roleplay at a disadvantage, and promotes quality over quantity for the sake of quantity.
We have the following general word limits for shows and pay-per-view events.
Regular Match: 1000 Words Per Superstar
Regular Tag Team Match: 750 Words Per Superstar (1500 if you control both members)
European Title Match: 1000 Words Per Superstar
Intercontinental Title Match: 1250 Words Per Superstar
World Title Match: 1500 Words Per Superstar
Title Tag Team Match: 1000 Words Per Superstar (2000 if you control both members)
Any changes or differences in these general limits will be clearly indicated on the show's match card.
If all competitors in a match want to increase/decrease the word limit, please contact Vince McMahon to have this approved.
We will allow a maximum leniency of 100 words over a word limit to finish up a scene on a case-by-case basis - if this leniency is abused on a regular basis by individuals, any words over the limit will be disregarded by the judging team.
NO SHOWS
No-showing a match in WWF: The Golden Era without prior reason will result in immediate contract and account termination.
It is completely unfair to your opponent(s) who have put in the work for your match and cannot be tolerated.
If you know in advance that you cannot compete on a card, please post in the LEAVE OF ABSENCE section so we know not to book you.
No-shows will be allowed to re-join WWF: The Golden Era, providing a reasonable explanation for the no-show is provided.
If this is the case, you re-join on the understanding that your original character may now be taken by somebody else.
NUMBER OF ROLEPLAYS
WWF: The Golden Era has a one roleplay per match policy.
This includes single member controlled tag teams - your roleplay for both of your tag team members should be incorporated into one post, and not two separate posts/roleplays.
LATE ENTRIES & EDITS
All match roleplay topics are locked once the deadline has passed.
If you do have a roleplay written but fail to post before the deadline, please contact Vince McMahon and send him your roleplay and reason for missing the deadline.
It is at the discretion of WWF staff as to whether we accept your late roleplay or not.
Roleplays may be edited at any time up until the topic is locked for coding and grammatical corrections.
Roleplays may not be added to once posted.
The WWF staff have access to post logs showing every edit made, so you will be caught! Don't risk it. Make sure you're ready to post before you post.
"ANGLE-DRIVEN" MATCHES
If you are part of a major storyline in the WWF, there may be a time where your match result is determined due to the storyline.
For example, a match may be ended by disqualification, count out etc. if your storyline rival interferes.
If an agreement cannot be reached, the storyline involved may need to be revised, or even dropped.
Stories are the life and soul of E-Fed's, so it is expected that you give us the control and freedom to work with this.
WE WILL NEVER BOOK ANGLED WINNERS. This is a practice I absolutely despise. Winners will ALWAYS be based on the quality of writing submitted, only the actual finish (countout, DQ, etc.) will be "angled".
TITLE REMATCH CLAUSES
WWF: The Golden Era does not allow title rematch clauses.
This is to avoid the same participants sending a championship back and forth between each other, and gives new competition the chance to get involved in the title picture.
Once a Championship has been lost, you are more than welcome to stay involved in the title picture, but will be competing with other WWF talent for a title match and will not receive a rematch.
Any rematch for a championship will be earned through a number one contendership match.
MATCH DECISIONS
Winners of matches are determined by a team of judges.
Match results will never be determined by one single person, and will always be impartial and unbiased.
In singles/multi-man matches, roleplays will ranked from best to worst (it doesn't sound right saying worst, as there's never a 'bad' roleplay!) with the roleplay deemed the best being victorious.
If you end up being 'worst' - please don't assume your roleplay was bad, it 100% wasn't.
There always has to be a winner(s) and a loser(s).
Tag team match results are judged on the equal contribution of both team members. The team with the highest two roleplays when ranked will get the win. For example:
1st: Hawk
2nd: Smash
3rd: Animal
4th: Ax
Hawk and Animal will get the win, as their roleplays were highest in the rank order.
The same system applies for six-man tag team matches and above.
If you would like some feedback on a roleplay, the judging team will happily provide it in the LOCKER ROOM sub-forum, either publicly or privately.
Key things the judges look for in a roleplay, alongside quality writing and character portrayal/development, include perfect spelling and grammar and good coding (colors, line spacing, media).
It cannot be stressed enough that negative behaviour regarding a match defeat, both in the CBox and the forum, will not be tolerated.
ROLEPLAY CONTENT
Excessive swearing (f*ck and sh*t every other sentence), graphic sexual content and graphic violent content is not permitted.
If you think you might have gone a bit OTT - you probably have!
Check with Vince McMahon or any WWF staff if you're planning to write something that may come close to 'the line'.
Your roleplays should be as relevant to your character, storyline and match as possible; if you're portraying Big Bossman but are typing like Hulk Hogan, it's not going to go well.
Knowing your character and their history, mannerisms, body language and speech is incredibly important.
Do your research and 'know' the character you're portraying.
Your roleplays should build anticipation, suspense and excitement towards your match and/or storyline - failing to relate to the match/storyline you're in will be costly towards the match result.
Referencing your opponent's already posted roleplay for your match is not allowed, and will result in penalization and/or disqualification.
Use of other characters within your roleplays is definitely encouraged, but you should try and get permission from the other player if you plan to get overly physical.
We would strongly encourage that requests of this nature are not turned down - characters are on the wrong side of attacks and verbal exchanges all the time, both Faces and Heels, so it would be silly to try and 'protect' your character from any interactions.
Get the upper hand one week, and take a beating the next week, it's all in good fun!
