Rules for jumpchain

Disclaimer
Nobody agrees on what all the rules are, or what rules fall under which categories.

Layers of Rules
For someone new to jumpchain, the rules are confusing - especially what rules are okay to ignore or change. It might be helpful to think of the rules in layers.

In-Game Rules
The top layer is what your jumper, the fictional self-insert character, obeys, but are imposed by the player.

Example In-Game Rules: These rules are considered player behavior within the framework of the Jumpchain Game Rules and are optional; nobody really cares if you chose to follow or obey these rules. They may be based on fanwanking, and since it's a single-player game, nobody else is impacted if you break them. These sorts of rules are frequently discussed.
 * "Keep the benefactor entertained",
 * "Only Take One Companion",
 * "Always chose Drop In",
 * "Jumper themes",
 * "Always get involved with the plot"/"Always allow the plot to resolve itself"
 * etc.

Jumpchain Rules
The layer which supports the in-game rules are what you as the person playing the game has to obey, the rules of Jumpchain.

Example Jumpchain Rules Various Supplements may bend, break or alter these rules so are frowned upon.
 * obey the rules of jumpchain and rules of each jump - such as obeying cp limits and drawback limits, going through a given jump with cp only once, etc.
 * Having to take the Pokemon jump first or not at all is one of these rules.

These rules were usually established by Quicksilver, or otherwise developed over time on the thread through experience.

Discussion of Game Rules variations are not encouraged - do so with caution.

You can break these rules, but it is strongly advised you don't mention it on /jc/, as this may result in a cold reaction or hostility from the /jc/ community - if you aren't playing by the jumpchain rules, you're not really playing jumpchain.

Community Rules
The bedrock layer of rules, a solid ground layer that is vital to keeping jumpchain going as a community. It exists mostly as a code of conduct, but one where violations are harshly judged.

These rules were usually established by Quicksilver, or otherwise developed over time on the thread through experience.

Discussing the breaking of these rules on /jc/ is usually guaranteed to get hostility.

Example Community Rules:
 * If you're going to break the Game Rules, /jc/ doesn't want to hear about it.
 * Don't make duplicate jumps.
 * Don't alter/plagiarize other content-creators jumps or work.
 * Don't hijack people's claims on WIP jumps.
 * Broken jumps won't be added to the drive.
 * No lewd jumps.
 * No multiplayer.
 * New jumps should be posted in the /jc/ thread by their creator and added to the uploads folder on the drive.
 * Jumps should be standalone CYOAs/no interjump balancing.
 * To a lesser extent, authors should avoid altering jumps once finalised, except to add new content, correct in light of new source material, or for internal balance.

Jumpchain Rules
Rule 1: Fanwank something Drawbacks always override Perks CP-purchased Perks and Items are guaranteed.
 * when in doubt, fanwank something
 * make something up, but at least be creative or entertaining with it.
 * Example: You have a perk that means animals will never attack you. you take a drawback that means animals attack you on sight. in this case the drawback prevails.
 * as well as 'free stuff' that the Jump grants you
 * eg: going to the Harry Potter jump gives you HP-style magic at no cost, but even though you didn't buy it, this is still considered a fiat power.

Jump document can override general rules and setting rules
 * They work regardless of local metaphyisics
 * How does this work? There is no agreement. Fanwank something.

If you die in a jump, you are sent to your home dimension at the point in time and the age you left it. You retain all powers and Companions you have made up to that point, as a consolation prize and a personal thanks from Jump-chan. You are given a refresher of your original memories and can choose to assume your previous appearance, so you will not have to worry about looking out of place.Individual worlds are frozen in time at the moment you leave them until you end your chain. Whether that is via death, completing an End Jump, or simply remaining in a world, at that point all universes will start moving forward in time again. You can have up to 8 "Active" Companions at once. Companions are allies granted to you via the CYOA itself. Pokémon, PMD Partner, Sidekicks, these all count as Companions.Every individual Pokémon takes up a Companion slot.You can have an infinite number of Companions, but only eight can be active at any time. The others are basically stored in a dimension where time is stopped. You can swap you these eight at any point in your COSMIC WAREHOUSE. Pokémon can instead be stored in a Box Storage System inside your WAREHOUSE, but that requires taking Return from the WAREHOUSE and getting one from a second ten years in the Pokémon world.Stasis Pods are used to bring along people who were not given to you via the CYOA itself. Boone from fallout, for example.Stasis Pods are synched to one person and one person only. When a new jump begins, that person automatically appears frozen in their pod.Stasis Pods can be attuned to a different person. If you do so the original person will be sent back to their original universe at the point in time where they left with you and at the same age they were when they left.Companions, both normal and in Pods, will have their relative age scaled similar to yours. If you're 15 years old in one jump, your partners will be somewhere near that age, accounting for their natural lifespan.Children born as a result of relationships with your Companions are open for choice. I'm not getting into it, no good can come of trying to discuss it. You can be sterile or fertile, children will or won't age, they will or won't be Companions, they will or won't need pods, you make the call.If you return home or stay in a world without moving on and completing your chain, you can send companions to their home universes or keep them with you.
 * WORLDS:
 * COMPANIONS
 * COSMIC WAREHOUSE

Powers do not stack linearly or exponentially. They stack normally, but with diminishing returns. Every boost you gain that works the same way, such as physical strength, grants you less and less every time you take one. Assume each additional selection in a power you have taken before denotes a 25% to 33% decrease in efficacy compared to how much power you received from the previous option. The decrease is applied as sorted from largest increase to weakest increase. For example, if one strength option you took is more powerful at its core than another strength option, but you took the more powerful option second, you would gain the full effects of the second strength increase and the first would contribute 33% less to your strength than it was previously. Note that this does not apply to all powers. For example, you can, with enough choices towards it, completely eliminate your need for sleep. That doesn't mean you can't become fatigued from power use and need sleep anyways. Use your best judgment.Powers can and will draw from the same power source. For example, Reborn! Dying Will Flames and DC Green Lantern Corps rings both draw off willpower, and therefore draw off the same energy source. Pokémon attacks draw off a Power Points pool, which is different. Many attacks will cause stress or fatigue the user, and fatigue is fatigue. be careful not to overexert yourself or you may pass out from the stress on your body.Powers can't be combined, but can work in tandem with each other. For example, if you can create electric blasts as a superhero power, you can use those blasts to charge your InFamous Electrokinesis Conduit powers at a 1:1 charge ratio. Note that using these blasts will likely fatigue you, so be careful!
 * POWERS

Unless otherwise stated, assume that the characters in any universe are speaking and writing in your natural language. Even though an Anime-verse should be using Japanese exclusively, for some reason you interpret it as standard English, or whichever your most proficient language is. This does not apply to Pokémon, they still can only say their name. This does not make you a master of all languages as a result. If the characters can't speak the language, neither can you unless you learned it beforehand.
 * LANGUAGE