hicu-rpg is a group of people who play role-playing games over the internet via text-chat (as opposed to playing a multiplayer computer RPG, or playing via videoconferencing.)

Campaigns of hicu-rpg have been:

Various one-offs, as documented at CategorySessionLogs

Text of a rule adopted by the group regarding content rights: 

"HICU-RPG materials" are creative or functional works produced in connection with the  HICU-RPG gaming group, including but not limited to articles on the Wiki of Yore, Google Documents or other documents on cloud-based services and comments thereon, posts to the group's mailing lists or forums, chat logs (including main channel logs, out-of-band logs, and private messages, in text form or in any other form), and derivative works thereof.

Every past, current, and future HICU-RPG group member is entitled to copies of all HICU-RPG materials which have been shared with the group or with them personally. They may make copies and derivative works of the HICU-RPG materials for their own personal, non-commercial use. They may make copies of the HICU-RPG materials and derivative works for other HICU-RPG group members, individually or collectively.

This rule does not imply that members may make commercial use of others' original concepts, e.g. characters and world-building items. Members retain their applicable intellectual property rights; the intent of this rule is to establish a positive right of HICU-RPG members to have continuing use of the HICU-RPG materials for the purpose of designing and participating in role-playing games.

Amendment to the rule above, adopted 2024: 

Notwithstanding the rights to HICU-RPG intellectual property previously adopted, HICU-RPG members agree to not knowingly use HICU-RPG images for AI training without the permission of their respective creators.

Notwithstanding the rights to HICU-RPG intellectual property previously adopted, HICU-RPG members agree not to post or share images created by using HICU-RPG images as inputs to image-to-image models, or as controlnet inputs, without the permission of the HICU-RPG images’ respective creators.

Generative AI policy, adopted 2024: 

Guiding Principle and Use Regulations

The guiding principle of the policy is that human creativity (and in particular, originality) should not be supplanted by AI/ML statistical models, which lack life experience and artistic/authorial intent, and often produce very “generic” output. As such, if HICU-RPG members wish to make any use of AI/ML for producing HICU-RPG content, the use of the software must be under the careful supervision and direction of the member using it.

Large language models and similar text-generation tools may be used for brainstorming, grammatical refinement, translation, and similar tasks, but their output is not allowed on the wiki or for writing used in the game, unless it has a substantial human contribution and has been carefully reviewed by the author. (An exception would be if there is an overriding in-universe reason for a character to respond like an LLM, e.g. some kind of primitive AI is being manipulated in-universe. Any such use should be declared in advance.)

AI image generation programs, and other AI/ML based tools, can be used as part of a creative workflow. AI assisted art must reflect the creative intent of the artist making it (see the Guidance below for suggestions on how to do this) and, while allowing for some incorporation of AI “ideas,” the final image produced must be reasonably consistent with relevant descriptions provided in-game, unless it is explicitly a depiction of a non-trivial “alternate universe” (that is, specifically one relative to the setting it is significantly not consistent with) or other specifically noncanonical situation.

The following were part of the Fudge Ponies rules or were voted in as amendments to them on or about 2016-06-15 in a context which made it unclear whether they were hicu-rpg group rules or not, but precedent clearly maintained them in general terms if not; on or about 2025-04-07, they were voted in as general hicu-rpg group rules: 

S0.4.1 Pausing
        Any two players, or one player and the GM, may pause the game. Either the person who proposed the pause or the person who seconded the pause may end the pause. The pause may also be ended by a majority vote of the participants.

S0.5 Retcons
        The GM may apply retroactive continuity in the case of mistakes by the GM or players.
S0.5.1 Limitation of GM’s Retcon Power
        The GM may not apply retroactive continuity to a session other than the current session without a majority vote of the participants in the affected session. 
S0.5.2 Further Limitation of GM’s Retcon Power
        The GM’s retcon power in S0.5 shall be limited to retcons of a trivial or functional nature; substantive retcons affecting a significant part of the session shall only be possible by majority vote of the affected players.

The following bylaws related to the procedure for campaign or episodic selection were passed on the Fall 2025 ballot: 

A Proposal to Codify the Choice of Voting Method:
The method of determining the winner of main campaign selection votes and votes for the selections of officers of HICU-RPG shall be cloneproof Schwartz sequential dropping, i.e. Schulze Voting, as was used in the previous (2021) vote and is being used for this year's voting. Approval data for each campaign proposal will also be collected. If there is a tie in the Schulze vote, the campaign with the least disapproval will be selected.

Enacted 10:1. 

A Proposal for Procedures to Choose the GM of Filler Sessions:
In the event that multiple GMs are available to run a one-off or episodic campaign, and the need for filler content is known at least 4 days in advance of the session, a vote will be held to determine which GM runs the filler session(s). The selected GM can decide which of their episodic campaigns to run with whatever method they like (own preference, vote, consensus, etc.)

The vote will use Schulze Voting if there are more than two GMs with episodic campaigns, otherwise plurality voting.

The vote will close at least two days prior to the scheduled start of the session. If the need for filler content becomes known with less notice than four days, the HICU-RPG executive (currently Bryce) will decide after attempting to determine a consensus.

Enacted 8:3

The following rule was also adopted on the Fall 2025 Ballot: 

A Proposal to Encourage Starting on Time:
Except as may be otherwise arranged in advance, the game will begin at whichever of the following times is sooner: ten minutes after the scheduled starting time, or else such a time as all expected participants are present. This measure repeals and replaces the previously-adopted 15-minute limit and the 30-minute amendment to the same.

Enacted 8:3

hicu-rpg (last edited 2025-10-01 04:08:43 by Bryce)