General Rules
Roleplay is done in threads.You are expected to remain courteous and considerate when engaging in roleplay. The game is fundamentally collaborative and abhors selfishness. All behavior will be monitored, and action will be taken against those believed to be violating the spirit of the rules (in addition to the rules as written). You are expected to be a decent human at all times; it is not the job or responsibility of this or any other roleplaying website to teach you manners. You are not entitled to do-overs or multiple warnings for inappropriate conduct.
To start a new thread, go to the subforum that matches where that thread will be located in-character and click the "New Thread" button.
A thread about a conversation held in the Mizukage's office building, for example, should be placed in the Mizukage's Office subforum, located within the Kirigakure no Sato forum, which is part of the Land of Water category.
To start a new thread in-character, you must first have an approved character.
To register a character, copy the character sheet template located in the Character Applications subforum, start a new thread in that subforum (titled with your character's name), and fill out the template. A moderator will then approve your character, provided it follows the appropriate guidelines; otherwise, they will explain what needs correction. Following approval, you should follow the instructions for completing a Databook entry. A character can participate in multiple threads at the same time (under the assumption that these threads take place at different points in time). A player is expected to be generally aware of the game's timeline and refrain from having their character participate in threads that would be contradictory to this timeline. When in doubt, use common sense; a character can not be both participating in an attack on Kirigakure and spectating that attack with others in a different thread at the same time.
Every in-character post in a thread is worth 1 XP.
There is no minimum post length, but each post should demonstrate an honest amount of effort. It is courteous to attempt to post within 48 hours of the start of your turn. After this period, it becomes acceptable for other participants in a thread to skip your turn (unless you have an approved leave of absence). To claim XP, you must complete a character update. To do so, refer again to the instructions in the Databook subforum. A moderator will then approve your update, provided it follows the appropriate guidelines; otherwise, they will explain what needs correction. All subsequent update posts for the same character should be placed in the same thread (do not create a new thread for each update). Please maintain an updated record of your character in that thread at all times.
The maximum XP a character can possess is 1,000.
The only character that can possess more than this is the Mizukage. A character may begin with any amount of XP, between 0 and 1,000, as the player desires. This allows for the player to tell a story ranging anywhere from a fresh genin to an experienced jōnin. This is also to mitigate the feeling of wasted progress in the event of a character's death.
You may spend XP to advance your character and unlock new abilities.
To spend XP, follow the instructions above to make an update post in the same thread as described above. This game operates on a specific, scaling power level designed to provide a general frame of reference for the type and quality of available abilities. It is broadly intended for this power level to increase over time through the addition of content and abilities during patches. The current power level is roughly analogous to Part 1 of Naruto (pre-Shippuden).
Setting Information
Gekokujo takes place during the Bloody Mist period of Kirigakure.During this time, the Village Hidden in the Mist had a reputation for being a particularly violent and dangerous place. Gekokujo itself refers to the act of one overthrowing their superior and taking their place (a common practice during this period). While the privileged elites of the village will not tolerate overt threats to their status and power, the village leadership is otherwise broadly tolerant of violence and chaos in pursuit of 'weeding out the weak'. In other words, might makes right. However, this does not mean that Kirigakure is entirely lawless, particularly among the civilian population who rely upon shinobi to maintain a sense of general order, but rather that the act of progressing through the hierarchy is inherently bloody and filled with other power-hungry individuals. Nothing demonstrates this more than the fact that the current Mizukage has gone missing and is presumed murdered.
The setting is the Land of Water.
The game primarily focuses on Kirigakure no Sato, its clans, and their politics. The creation and balance of clans, exclusive techniques, and so on are intentionally focused on this one village. Unique abilities from outside of Kirigakure (such as those of the clans of the Village Hidden in the Leaves) are not a priority for development at present. While subforums do exist for characters to visit countries other than the Land of Water, it is assumed that most roleplaying will take place within it.
Kekkei genkai are treated with suspicion.
In a village where shinobi often take what they want by force, that which they cannot take and use themselves—such as the bloodline ability of another—can be resented, scorned, and even hated. For their part, clans are fiercely secretive and protective of their unique powers and talents, which they view as a competitive edge in a dog-eat-dog world (for reference, both Haku and Kimimaro's families are purged in the canon timeline).
A rigid caste system exists.
The people of Kirigakure are split into three broad social classifications. At the top of the pyramid are the members of the village's high-ranking clans. Clan, in this context, does not specifically refer to those possessing kekkei genkai, but rather to families that have occupied positions of importance and prestige—both in Kirigakure and the Land of Water before it—for generations. The second caste comprises those whose families were present in the village when Kirigakure was founded but have never held positions of importance or prestige, and is the largest caste by size. The lowest caste, which is frequently discriminated against, comprises those families that were forcibly integrated into Kirigakure during the village's conquests and wars of expansion. They are treated as expendable by the village's elites, and are looked down upon by most members of the upper two castes. The infamous practice of forcing academy classes to fight to the death as part of the graduation ceremony, usually resulting in only a single victorious genin, is enforced exclusively upon this caste (in the canon timeline, Zabuza Momochi is a famous product of this system).