Earning GP

GP Gain
What is GP?
GP, or Growth Points, is the currency a character earns by participating in threads and advancing their story. This currency can then be spent on stats and skills. As Bleach Gotei is first and foremost a collaborative storytelling effort, a large portion of GP is earned by simply posting in threads. However, a significant portion of a character’s total GP pool will be comprised of Base GP, which is—for most characters—a rough indication of the stage in which that character’s story currently is. As a character’s story develops, players will be eligible to request Milestones in order to increase their Base GP (for information on Milestones, see below).

Keep in mind that Base GP and non-Base GP is valued the same; the only difference is that Base GP can only be earned via Milestones. All characters start with 1,500 Base GP.

Claiming GP
Writing posts does not automatically place GP in a character’s GP pool; in order to spend GP earned by posting, threads must first be completed, and then be claimed. This is to ensure that a character’s GP gain can be tracked and audited in the interests of fair play. In order to claim, simply post in your application thread with links to the threads in question along with the amount of GP being claimed. Feel free to include any relevant information that might be of assistance, but most important is that an updated GP total is provided every time you claim. It is very easy for staff to keep track of (and if necessary, correct) GP expenditure, but it is significantly more difficult to see where all the GP comes from, and a clear progression of steadily increasing Total GP is as straightforward and accessible as can be. Staff will confirm the claim, check for inaccuracies, and finally approve the claim, leaving you free to spend it as you please.

Note! It is imperative that RP posts include, at the very least, a word count (Bleach Gotei has a built-in word-counter that is considered “official”).

Unfinished Threads
Given that Bleach Gotei is a collaborative storytelling effort, the unfortunate reality is that sometimes thread partners will disappear mid-thread. In order to discourage this kind of behavior, threads cannot be claimed until they are finished, with a special exception existing for those whose partners abandon them mid-thread. If a thread partner disappears or takes an inordinate amount of time (a minimum of 2 weeks, though you may choose to wait longer if you wish) to reply, you may consider the thread abandoned and claim it as if it were finished. You may then leave the thread as-is—giving your thread partner an opportunity to return and finish it—or, if no attempt to finish it has been made after a minimum of 4 weeks since your partner’s last reply, wrap it up by yourself. Your thread partner will not be eligible to claim the thread until they return to finish it. In the event you choose to wrap up the thread by yourself, your thread partner will not be eligible to claim the thread at all.

We encourage communication and understanding between thread partners, but we also appreciate that having your story held up by tardy posts can be frustrating and this system exists to assuage that while simultaneously leaving it open-ended enough for you and you alone to be the judge of how long you wish to wait.

GP Rates
The standard rate at which posting earns GP is 1 GP per 50 words. This number is calculated on a per-thread basis and is always rounded down.

There are, however, a number of different rates (some of which for specific thread types, outlined below) depending on what is being posted—or how. The rates are as follows:

Standard Rate: 1 GP per 50 words
Solo Rate: 1 GP per 75 words
Associated NPC Rate: 1 GP per 100 words
Unassociated NPC Rate: 1 GP per 200 words (claimable by any of your characters)

Associated/Unassociated NPC rates are differentiated by whether or not that NPC is strongly linked to your character or not, and if so, only that character can claim GP written by that NPC. All retired characters earn GP as if they were Unassociated NPCs.

Thread Types
Different Ways to Tell Stories
Not all thread types will be optimal or even appropriate for telling a character’s story at certain points. Furthermore, the flow of time in a collective storytelling effort such as Bleach Gotei is not always straightforward or obvious, and as such, there are several different thread types recognized as “standard”.

Group Threads are the most common, defined simply as threads that have more than one participant. Posts in Group Threads earn GP at the standard rate.

Solo Threads are less common, defined as threads that have only one participant. Solo Threads earn GP at the solo rate.

Turn Back the Pendulum Threads, often referred to as simply Pendulum Threads, are threads which take place in the past—often as a way of retroactively expanding existing relationships, or illuminating parts of a character’s origins. The GP rate in Pendulum Threads is dependent on the amount of participants.

Alternate Universe (AU) Threads take place in alternate universes, and are most commonly used to explore what-if scenarios. Large-scale site events, such as the traditional Bleach Gotei Halloween threads, are AU Threads. The GP rate in AU Threads is dependent on the amount of participants, but note that AU threads cannot be used when requesting Milestones.

Note! It is mandatory to include an Adults Only (AO) tag in the thread title for sexually explicit or excessively violent content in order to forewarn readers who may be sensitive to these things. In-character content is not censored on Bleach Gotei, but we ask that players are considerate of others’ preferences, leaving them the option to avoid content they might find disagreeable.

Open and Closed Threads
All threads, unless stated otherwise, are considered Closed. This means that unless a character is explicitly invited, they are not allowed to participate in that thread. It is recommended that the opening post of a Closed thread includes a list of people who are invited to participate for the sake of clarity.

However, threads can be set to Open, meaning anyone is free to participate in them regardless of invitation. Note that it is considered good practice (but not mandatory) to contact the participants of an Open thread before joining.

Participating in a Closed thread without an invitation is considered a thread invasion, which, while technically permitted, is subject to certain conditions. The uninvited participant must be prepared to justify—using only in-character reasons—his or her participation if the invited participants decide to appeal the invasion.

An invasion appeal is made in the Requests board and should include the names of the uninvited and invited participants, a link to the thread, and why the original participants feel the invasion is illegitimate.

The invader may then respond with their justification and reasoning, and staff will determine whether or not the invasion is legitimate. If it is not legitimate, the offending post will be stricken and the thread will be able to continue uninterrupted.

GP Request Types
Milestones
Milestones are requests that encompass arcs of a character’s story. These arcs typically span across multiple threads and indicate the character undergoing some measure of personal growth and development.

Upon completing a story arc of some sort, players may request a Milestone to be reviewed by staff. While reviewing the request, staff will take into consideration the content of the included threads, the overall story and writing quality, as well as how persuasive the request is.

A Milestone is a request for an increase to a character’s Base GP. This means a character’s first Milestone will be increasing the Base GP from 1,500. The higher the Base GP of a character, the more difficult milestones will become as the scrutiny of the request becomes increasingly strict.

The template for this request can be found here. The Character Life-Cycle, a roadmap of sorts to this type of request, can be found here.

Legendary Challenges
Legendary Challenges are combat-focused threads that lead to significant character development in a short timespan in what may be likened to a “mini-milestone”. A Legendary Challenge is graded by a thread’s wow-factor, fight aesthetics, character development and the quality of writing present in the requested thread. Unlike Milestones, Legendary Challenges award non-Base GP and there is no limit to the amount of Legendary Challenges a character can earn credit for.

The template for this request can be found here.