Role Play 101

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February 2012

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[Keira Wilder]

SIM Rules
First things first. Before participating in any Role Play on a SIM, read the rules. They might vary considerably from SIM to SIM. The notecards you get at the landing point (TP-in) are not there to annoy people, but to create a common basis for RP.


Story
No character that participates in a Role Play appears from out of nowhere. So spend a little time on your "background story".
There is no need to write down an essay or a novel  but scribble some outlines at least, that help you to find your own role.
The story of the poor orphan, who's parents were killed during a raid and which ever since wanders the world .... this is probably the most used story in RP history... but hey its a story at least.

If you realy can't come up with any story... ask one of the experienced role players... they will be able to help you define a short background for yourself... and they will be glad to help you, as they can see you do care for RP.


Accept your role

If I picked a role, I should be ready to live it... accept it.
If I am an office clerk it is not easy to explain why I am skilled with weapons... why I am an unbeatable killing machine. Live up to your role, and be true to your role.

Women are weaker than men. period.
Naked characters are more vulnerable to attacks than somone in armor (and they look much cuter).
Assassins are better fighters than merchants.

if I am sitting all day long in a tavern, feasting and getting drunk, then this will have an effect on fitness. If I live ascetic and do weapons training night and day... well I think you get my point.


How do you know my name, stranger?

Yes, in SL and in most other online games you see a nice and shiny name over everyones head.
But if I meet someone for the first time in a role play I can NOT know their name.
Ask for it... or address them differently (Sir, Lady, ... anything... just not their name).

 
Try... don't do
 
In regular RP as well as in an RP fight the slogan "try to do something... don't do it" is of utmost importance.
if your action will affect someone else directly, then I wil describe my action, but I will not describe the "outcome" of the action. This I will leave my "opponent" to express.
The "grey zone" is a bit broader in normal RP than in an RP fight.

If I slap a kajira on her cheek, who is kneeling in front of me... well I can expect that "slap" to hit its target.
If I throw something in her direction, I will only describe the throwing action.. not the "hit". Leave you opponent the possibility to evade or to get hit by the object.
BUT... dear opponents *winks* you are neither god nor Tarl Cabot or Bruce Lee... so please do not evade everything aimed at you. It will soon get boring.


Force RP

This leads us to a similar topic.. Force Role Play.
To force another character (Avatar) to do somthing or rather "something to be done to him" is probably the worst you can do in RP.
Everything that sustainably influences another character should be "cleared" beforehand in IMs (e.g killing or mutilating a character).
I read quite often that one of the panthers their male prisoners "manhood" off... sorry guys and girls... thats not OK. RP is something you play with each other, not against each other. If you do not understand this, you will be alone rather fast, everyone refuses to RP with you (waves at the Shadow Outlaws and Siba).
Every "reasonable captive" will accept injuries... as they will heal after some time. A mutilation however, that will have an effect on all future RP will have to be thought through in advance.
I wonder how the panther girl would feel if the next captor cuts off her feet?


God Mode
 
If you RP your character, it will surely have its strength. And surely it will have its weaknesses.
Those can have different origins such as physical, psychological or personality.
A few simple examples: blindness.. a weak side in combat.. alcoholism and its "negative" side effects, having a soft spot for dark skinned kajirae  ... being short temered)

But also the use of electronic aids is "god mode".
Radar, mini-map, camera zoom... the most used and abused things.


Emotes
Using emotes makes RP tangible.
A world such as Second Life tempts us to do everything just with "aminations" and prepared scripts.
I do find myself running into that "trap" now and then.

If I whip someone, then I can do that with a scripted whip, sure.
But additionaly I can emote my actions.

* Keira Wilder swings the whip and lets it hit the back of Nadja's thighs.

(then followed by the animated action done by the scripted whip)

This makes vivid RP.


You can "decorate" your movements with emotes:

* Keira Wilder balances the cup on the tray and walks slowly across the room. not seeing the shoe lying in front of her she trips and lands right in front of XYZ's feet.

Important for emotes - use 3rd person when you emote.
The "/me" will always be replaced by your name, so it will be consistent to keep writing in 3rd person

Keira Wilder raises the sword and...

Nothing worse than your RP partner changing into 1st person...

Keira Wilder I raise my sword and...

 


Also try to "identify" your RP target by name or a unique description.
 

Keira Wilder gets up and gives you a juicy kiss on your lips.

Nice if you do that in the middle of 20 people 

Keira Wilder spanks Nadja's butt with the flat of her hand.

No confusion here.


And here as well... DO NOT emote for your RP partner.

Keira Wilder raises her and sees that the warrior looks with fearful eyes at her.

*laughs* Please, please NO. Let your opponent react. He knows how he feels.... better than you.


Thinking

Thinking is a good thing *grins* but keep in mind that your opponent is no mind reader.

Keira Wilder thinks that she would like to slap XYZ's face.

You can write that, sure... but better would be:

Keira Wilder cringes, her lips pressed tightly together, clenching her fists, she looks angrily at XYZ.

Your opponent can not reacto to your thoughts... but your grimace he can react to.

In RL you also don't say what you think... but your faces can be read like books.


Perfekt is boring

Put mistakes into your Role Play. Nobody walks through life without mishaps and mistakes. Drop your sword, break the cup, trip, crash into something... its the little things that make your RP partners smile.


Skirt Rule

If you type... think about the skirt rule.
Long enough to cover the essentials, short enough to be interesting.

Don't slay your fellow players with epic novels, but give them some details.


Let them reply

Role Play is no fast typing competition and no race.
Wait for each other and find a common pace... then you reach the "finish line" together.


OOC

Avoid OOC (Out Of Character) talk.
If it is necessary to use OOC information, write it in double brackets ((....))... so everyone can destinquish it from in character text.
If it is not essential for everyone around you, use IMs.



For the RP fight 101 click here

[Kaile Oconnell]

OOC REFERENCES

There's nothing worse than having someone talk about game mechanics in the middle of a good RP session.

"Don't give skins to my slave please!" Was one I saw the other day. It could so easily have been rephrased as, "Slaves do not own property. If you have any gifts for her, give them to me. I will see that she well earns them!"

Or

"You're half baked. You need to reload your hair, skins and clothes." This could be quite easily incorporated into RP like this: "/me glances over at XYZ and raises an eyebrow in surprise. "Did you dress yourself this morning? I would whip my slave if she let me out of the house looking like that."

"Are Mikazuki weapons legal in this sim?" Could easily be RP'd as: "Is there an embargo on the wares of the smith Mikazuki? I had not heard if they were regarded as contraband or not?"

Then there's the wierd stuff that people do with their characters that just doesn't fit into Gor unless they're some kind of exotic slave from Ar - like snake eyes, pointy ears or wearing shades. I suggest you react to them in just the way your character would: "/me glances at XYZ and his eyes widen as he sees the colour of the man's eyes. He takes a step back in surprise, reaching for his sword."

[Laja DeCuir]

I just picked that one out again.

I am really thankful for the work Keira did on that one and I think it is helpful for A/all who are new to Gor and for the old staggers worth to read it every now and then. *smiles warmly

[ashasekayi ra]

Thank you for bumping this thread.

Even veteran roleplayers need to be reminded of the fundamentals from time to time.

[Rumor Leroux]

These are great tips, all. 

I would like to add some ideas as well and hopefully make creating and sticking to a roleplay character a little easier.

Creating a RP character...
It may help if you jot down on a sheet some strengths and weaknesses for your character before you begin playing him/her.  One way Ive found that helps me is to start with 10 pts and distribute them over the following attributes:

Strength
Constitution
Dexterity
Intellect
Wisdom
Charisma

Those are basic RP stats that come in handy when developing a character.  If you assign pts to each (not exceeding 10pts), I find it helps to flesh out a more realistic person to play.  It all depends what you prefer to play, but an example would be a warrior who might possess 5 pts of STR as well as 3 pts of DXT and 2 pts CON (having no pts in INT doesnt necessarily make him daft, but would help keep in perspective he isnt the brains of any operation haha). 

Once pts are assigned you can begin to determine how and why your character would have the stats they do.  For instance, if you assign 5 pts to INT is it because your character is well-educated?  born a genius?  had a mentor? etc... The "why" for the stat can just be a simple note to yourself to help you start up RP and/or to keep continuity within RP.

I like to give at least two added traits to my character before beginning as well, to help me stick to her personality and not have her take over mine.
One is to give her a goal, the other a character flaw.  At times they even collide.  For example, she wants to prove she is good enough so she continuously helps and aids people whenever possible, but she feels unworthy so any time her efforts lead to a positive end she becomes destructive to compensate (her own worst enemy haha).  The destruction could be anything from alcohol to lying, stealing, etc...  For me, that is where the fun lies. 

This is all I can think of for now.  I would love to hear of anyone else's tricks for character creation and RP. 

Oh and P.S.  Don't get stuck in the character creation phase!  Be quick, be simple and get playing!  Most of your character's traits will flow within RP as you go!

[Sie Alcott]

I would consider one very most important point about Good RP missed. Sticking to the Theme. Too often its seen and allowed for people to create something that simply does not exist. You may be the best roleplayer in the world but when you do or allow something that simply cannot be you are giving Bad RP.

[Martainn MacMoragh]

Role Play is about a great many things.  Identifying what you want out of it is important for figuring out how you will proceed. 

Just as important is to have a sense of what *other* people want out of it.  To a large degree role play is collaborative--but if you want one thing, and the people you are playing with want something else, you will wind up working at cross purposes.  That is frustrating for everyone.

Some examples:

*Some people want to produce a good story--for these people, drama is an operative concept

*Some people want to feel like they are immersed in living an alternative life--for these people, simulation and realism are operative

*Some people want to play a game--for these people, competition is operative

There are other approaches to role play--but in the usenet discussion about this topic on rec.games.fantasy.advocacy in the 1990s (for anyone who remembers those conversations--do a google search on "John Kim roleplay" if you want to know more) these were the three big ones.

If you are someone seeking simulation, and to a lesser extent a good story, its important to have a setting that is itself in motion.  I think people tend to be drawn to the more game-oriented sims (many of the outlaw or panther sims where we are most likely to see "six gun shoot'em up Gor") in part because the city oriented sims are so often very static.  At least the people who are in it largely to play games are proactive--and their frenetic action gives story-tellers or simulationists the hooks they need to develop their own style of role play.  Of course, those sims are precisely the ones that are least committed to the Gorean setting--so the story tellers and immersion/simulation junkies are likely to be disappointed there in the long run.

Putting the setting in motion will require organizations that push back, and it will also require people who are willing to enforce the setting. By organizations, I mean people who are willing (and empowered) to take on GM roles in the setting, in order to make big picture stuff happen.  As a practical thing, I suspect this means sim owners and admins.

1.  A setting in motion means deciding what is happening, in the "big picture," so that people can react to it.  In stories and in simulations, there are large scale things happening that are beyond the capacity of any single player to put into motion.  What, for example, would the movie "Casablanca" be, without the backdrop of the Second World War?  Big picture things include:  inquisitions; plagues, wars, famines.  Entire sims need to respond to stuff like this.  These sorts of "mega events" create frameworks within which individual people can make role play happen.  As a player, I have responsibility for my own personal story.  But for it to feel "real," for it to be something for which I can suspend disbelief, there needs to be other stuff going on that is beyond my own personal control.

2.  Willingness to enforce the setting.  We have to be willing to go out of our way to support the setting--not just other people's direct role play, but the setting itself.  An example:  last year, a FW I know got frustrated with her rp, and decided to seek out someplace "dangerous" to see what would happen.  She walked across Aria.  Nothing happened--people were nice and polite to her.  So she walked across Aria without a veil.  Still nothing.  So she walked across Aria *naked.*  And no one said anything to her.  There were no consequences.  When stuff like that happens routinely--and I have met more than one FW or slave with a similar story--it undermines our ability to suspend disbelief.  And when that happens, people who are in the role play for immersive-simulation or story/drama get cranky.

Lots more to say here, but I need to beat back the camel's nose called "work" that is poking under the wall of my tent.

Martainn MacMoragh

[Anjali Cazalet]

.... An example:  last year, a FW I know got frustrated with her rp, and decided to seek out someplace "dangerous" to see what would happen.  She walked across Aria.  Nothing happened--people were nice and polite to her.  So she walked across Aria without a veil.  Still nothing.  So she walked across Aria *naked.* 

As I remember, I was sorely upset with the 'antic' of my little sister attempting such a feat. And it was true, nothing happened. Just as I experienced, in Aria, wearing my long flowing white gown, white veil, a crimson cloak and the shock of long flowing red hair everyone sees as a flag trailing behind me. People were shooting left and right, all wearing black, and not one shot me. I crouched down by someone who was felled, and aided them. No one gave me a second look.

I do tempt fate on a regular basis, going places on my own... but it isn't for the 'chance' of something to happen.. hell. I've been downed in my own home and left there, not even having my daggers taken away.. sorry sod had me back in their back and them on the ground after wards.. don't under-estimate a woman's resolve.

It makes one wonder just what it is that makes a person "cap-able". Certainly doesn't seem like it is the 'free woman of another city" aspect, or the "slave potential" or even the "ransom" potential. Not sure what it is.

But.. this lament was not my intention to respond to this thread. It was about the female warrior issue. One that I really, really hate.

1) There are NO female warriors.
Everyone seems to look to the Luther scrolls as some measure of authority. While I don't agree 100% with his perceptions, as that is all they are...here is something he has on his site at the moment.
Free women may become members of the Warrior Caste by birth or Free Companionship. Norman never explicitly states that such women do not receive a warrior's training. He never explicitly stated that they do not battle with swords against other warriors. But, there is not a single reference showing that any women ever did receive such training. The answer to the question of whether women of the Red Caste were trained as Warriors will depends on your interpretation of the novels.

A number of people claim that since there is no explicit prohibition against it, then women could have been trained as Warriors. But, that is too simplistic of an answer, ignoring the other evidence that exist in the novels. There are many items not specifically prohibited by Norman that would clearly not be Gorean. Norman does not specifically state that there are no fire-breathing dragons on Gor. Does that mean they might exist then on Gor? Did Norman ever intend dragons to exist on Gor? I very much doubt it and few, if any, would contend that they should exist there.
There is a quote that I have seen several times, and of course when I want it, I can't find it. But it spoke of women who were not trained in the use of weapons being targets if they attempt to draw their weapon in self defense. So if one speaks of those that are not trained in the use of weapons, it leads one to extrapolate that there are other women who are trained.

Some times the message is not written in the words, but the spaces left between them.

Then we have this quote, that though speaking of the Rence growers, paints a different picture of the frailty of women on gor.
The women of rence growers, when in their own marshes, do no veil themselves, as is common among Gorean women, particularly of the cities. Moreover, they are quite capable of cutting rence, preparing it, hunting for their own food and, on the whole, of existing, if they wish it, by themselves. There are few tasks of the rence communities which they cannot perform as well as men. Their intelligence, and the work of their hands, is needed by the small communities. Accordingly they suffer little inhibition in the matters of speaking out and expressing themselves. Raiders of Gor, page 18-19

I find that by appearance, everyone looks to the High Cities and the affluent Free Women to emulate or expect emulation. The ones of not only High Caste, but High Society. Ubars' daughters, and affluent persons. Gor was not comprised solely of the wealthy. And there were not that many High Cities. Only a few that were subjected to the high morals and societal standards.

Yet we seem to see everyone base their views of what Gor IS on only those few places, leaving out the countless societies that were not given chapter after chapter and book after book attention.

Logic and understanding says that the author devotes only as much time as he has, within a frame work limitation of how many words he can spare to a given subject. Again, if it's not spelled out explicitly, you have much leeway in interpretation.

Going back to the subject...
Define warrior.
It isn't the fact that they fight that makes them a warrior. So a woman fighting is no more a warrior if she fights.

A warrior has a set of codes, honor by which he lives by. It is an expectation that comes of his Caste. And then for those societies without a Caste system, their views still incorporate honor and courage, amongst other ideals.

That does not mean that women do not possess courage, or honor.. I'll fight you on that one.

But..Is a Scribe, who uses a bow to hunt, to defend his Home Stone, or His Scribery during a battle, a warrior? No. He's fighting for his right as a Gorean. Not a Gorean man, but a Gorean.

I don't wear a bow. Never have. Probably never will. I attempt to use only those weapons that are viewed as acceptable. I will RP picking up a sword should one be handy, though more than likely, because of the 'acceptability' aspects, only a scimitar so no one screams foul...

    They rushed to the walls.
    Within the parapets we fought those who had scaled the walls.
    I saw one invader climbing down the ladder to the lower levels.
    Then he cried out and slipped to the level beneath, his hands off the rungs.
    I saw Telima's head in the opening. In her teeth was the dagger I had seen. In her right hand, bloody, was the admiral's sword I had discarded.
    "Go back!" I cried to her.
    I saw Luma and Vina climbing up behind her. They picked up stones from the roof of the keep, and ran to the walls, to hurl them at point-blank range against the men climbing.
    Telima, wildly, her two hands on the sword, struck a man from behind in the neck and he fell away from the blade.
Raiders of Gor, p.297

'At her waist she wore a jeweled scabbard, protruding from which I saw the ornamented, twisted black of a Turian dagger; Free Women in Torvaldsland commonly carry a knife...' pg 156
Turian dagger.. in torvaldsland.. so I guess in turia they were their daggers on their hips?

I'm long winded tonight, so I will stop before I put both feet in my mouth.

I am of the Scarlet. I hold my Father's Caste. I am not a Warrior woman. I am a survivor. I will fight you if you come to my Home Stone and try to take from me and my family. That makes me a survivor. If I lose, most likely, I expect to pay the consequences. I am fully aware of them.

Flame

You know. When you have a bad day, and it takes you over 6 hours to post a thread because of one calamity after another... and then.. finally, quiet.. and you sit down to finish it... only to press the button, and see the title of another thread all together.. and wonder how the heck did I do that?

Don't read two threads at the same time I guess..

Marti, it's your fault. I read both BTB and this.. hahaha..

I'm going to bed.

[Carter Ebbage]

On this subject of women warriors.

lets put aside the "John Norman did say or John Norman didnt say"

As was said in other posts, GOR is broadly based on historical civlisations ..Rome, Greece etc

In these civlisations we read of one or two women, "warrior like", for example Bodicea in England led the ancient Britons against the Roman invasion, but she wasnt a warrior.. she was a war leader.. a tribal chieftain.

Elizabeth the First of England... a very formidable woman.. ruthless to the point of executing any one she felt was a threat to her position of power, and historically defeated the Spanish, but she didnt actually jump on a ship and attack the Spanish in the Engllish Channel.... I cant see anything historical to point to the fact, that women where actual fighters or warriors, but I can see and accept women as "war like" leaders.

[Anjali Cazalet]

I just woke up, 5am insomnia.

Wasn't it the Greeks that had women who road from chariot, they were archers. wearing a tunic that exposed right breast. I think it was a man's tunic, toga, whatever, but they were fighting with the men.

So I search...
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2133/whats-up-with-the-amazons

an excerpted para...
Sauromatian men and women alike were interred in kurgans (burial mounds) with mortuary offerings to help the deceased in the afterlife. Most females were buried with stereotypically feminine items such as sewing, weaving, and cooking implements. But a minority of the women, perhaps 20 percent, were buried with grave goods like those of male warriors, who made up 90 percent of male burials. Grave goods of warriors (male and female) include swords, daggers, bows, arrows, sacrificed horses, and sometimes sacrificed people, presumably slaves. In the 4th century, a medical writer we know only as pseudo-Hippocrates claimed that Sauromatian women destroyed their right breasts, but the arachaeological evidence so far does not support this belief. Very likely pseudo-Hippocrates was repeating the "breastless" story of Heraclitus while having in mind the Amazon-Sauromatian connection of Herodotus.

About the 4th century, the Sauromatians gave way--or gave rise--to the similarly-named Sarmatians, who ranged a bit farther east. The two groups were similar in many ways, and women warriors are also found in early Sarmatian burials. Nor were they the only steppe peoples among whom women could be warriors. The PBS series Nova aired the episode "Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden" about the remains of a 5th century B.C. female warrior of the Pazyryk culture. The Pazyryks were yet another Scythian offshoot, far to the east of the Sarmatians.

Elizabeth I, archer?
"Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), who was said to have been a skilful archer, in the unusual guise of Diana, the huntress. The attributes of this goddess are bow and arrows, hound, and the crescent moon, all of which can be seen in this painting which hangs in Hatfield House. Attributed to Cornelius Vroom."

Neat.

Muah

[Carter Ebbage]

I think you have to be careful about remains being buried with a female body.. these where often symbolic and decorative.

As for Elizabeth I being a proficient archer.. she was also eloquent in french.. didnt make her French (ewwwww)

[Loki Landar]

TELEPORTING, LOGGING-IN, LOGGING-OUT
Each sim will have specific sites to and from which teleporting in and out is permitted.  Logging-in and logging-out should only be done from these locations or personal residences.

OOC vs. IC
OOC is the acronym for Out-of-character.  The opposite is IC, In-Character.  These terms are used to distinguish between things that are outside the bounds of the roleplay situation from those that are within.  Open-chat posts (the kind everyone sees), should only be IC emotes or conversations.  IM should be used for OOC dialogue.  Open-chat should only be used for OOC posts if they urgently apply to everyone present and no other channel (such as group IM) would suffice.  Such posts must begin and end with double-parentheses "((" and "))" to indicate that the post should not interfere with roleplay.

RULES vs. LAWS
All roleplay sims have Laws and Rules available at their entrances.  It is imperative to read these before commencing roleplay.
Rules refer to OOC administrative issues.  Laws are IC and should be referred to and enforced accordingly.  Breaking a Rule will get you in trouble with the sim administrators and possibly Linden Labs.  Breaking a Law, will get your character arrested by a guardsman and tried/sentenced by a magistrate in roleplay.

VALIDITY
Valid roleplay basically requires events to pass plausible in the given roleplay context.  Most requirements for valid roleplay are covered by Sim Rules.  However, due to the many capabilities of Secondlife, not all can be specified.  These situations require the ruling of a Roleplay Moderator.

COMBAT METERS AND WEAPONS
These are items worn in Secondlife that simulate damage given or taken by an avatar.  Each sim will determine which meter will be used and which weapons are permitted.  This will explained in their Rules/Laws.  Meters are available for free at sim entrances.  Free weapons can be found throughout gor, others can be purchased from several vendors.

METER CONTROLS
In addition to enabling damage from combat, meters also have other capabilites.  Take the time to read the Instruction Notecards to understand these capabilities.  These include different modes such as Combat, Arena, and OOC.  The meters also will allow killing, binding, and various other actions that will animate the wearer's avatar.  The meters can also be reset, restoring health.  A meter must NEVER be reset in a roleplay or combat setting.

MODERATORS
All roleplay sims have moderators who can be called to rule on the validity of a scenario.  These individuals are required to objectively evaluate the scenario in its proper context and guide the players.

EMOTING
Rather than just typing the words you want your chracter to say and hitting enter, sometimes be creative and descriptive.  Do this by typing "/me" at the beginning of your post, followed by a facial expression or movement or other action.

BINDING, AIDING, UNBINDING, GRAPPLING, KILLING, PICKING LOCKS, SENDING FOR HELP
These are a few special actions that require detailed posts, one for each separate action.  Be sure to read each sim's Rules for these types of actions because they often differ from each other.

ROLEPLAY COMBAT
In situations when players are not armed, they can commence roleplay combat.  This uses emotes to describe the efforts to attack the other.  See godmodding below.

GOD-MODING / GODMODDING
There are at least two forms of godmodding.
1.  Actions that are not possible in the given context, often seen in escapes and roleplay (unmetered) combat.
Invalid Example 1: Player X, by some feat, pulls his hands free of the perfectly good bindings.
Invalid Example 2: Fully armed Player X attempts to hit Player Y.  Player Y dodges and counter attacks.  Repeat to infinity.
Invalid Example 3: Player X waits for the guard to turn away, then vomits up the lockpick he swallows every morning in case he is captured.
2.  Posting actions that preclude the other players response or describe it for them.
Invalid Example:  Player X punches player Y in the face, knocking player Y unconscious.
Valid Example: Player X sends a powerful punch toward Player Y's face.

METAGAMING
This refers to the use, incorporation, or reliance on OOC information in Roleplay.  This includes, IM's, minimap, radar, and camming.  Basically, using anything that a character did not do or learn through valid roleplay.

[Pleasure Demonista]

Irritates me when they Godmod and "read" your thoughts then go off in a tangent in IM with you... they will then bagger and pest you on how you should or shouldn't have done that... LEAVE ME ALONE AND LET ME RP YOU!

Also I'm one who says yea if you got me capped I don't have a time limit to TP out... but if there is more than one person there and you guys are just standing there REALLY doing nothing... don't expect me to be the happiest RPer out there when you decide to finally RP me. 

If we down your asses, don't start whinning to me OOC in the MIDDLE of getting your asses handed to you that this and that was wrong... I maybe a mod but am I modding while I'm fighting... NO! Let me fight and leave me be... *tries to remember to put that owner of sim tag away when not neccessary*

BTB sims, if you come and raid NON BTB sims don't expect us to be perfectly BTB... you expect so much when its just a game... come on guys...

[Liliana Aluveaux]

Tag reading is the most important thing in my view. If you see someone had a girly named avatar yet they are dressed up in drag, do not automatically assume it. Hats off to the people I was rping with today. I was in disguise and they didn't just come up and say 'Liliana why are you wearing a beard?!' They found it out in rp.

[Xaz Elephas]

This is something I found, that I do try to keep in mind when I am role-playing:

The role players creed

1. I will maintain the illusion of the game by staying in character whenever possible. I will withhold out of character comments until absolutely necessary and even then I will whisper or IM's them to the other players. 

2. If I discuss the game with other players out of character, I will not allow my character to be influenced by this knowledge without express permission of the other players. I will take the time to allow my character to learn these things on his or her own during the course of the game.

3. I will separate myself as a player from my character as much as possible. While I understand that a lot of myself goes into my character and because the game is so very intense often real emotions will be drawn from me as a player, I also understand that MY CHARACTER IS NOT ME.  What my character is going through is not what I am going through.

4. If I am not in the mood to play, I won't interrupt other people's games by coming into it out of character. I will find others who are not in character and go somewhere meant for out of character discussion.

5. I will not use my character as a vehicle for racism or bigotry. I will not use my character to promote child pornography or bestiality. I, as a player, understand that there is no room in the real world for such things and will, to the best of my ability, not let it seep into the virtual world as well.

6. If I, as a player, feel that my character has been treated unfairly or that another character has overstepped the bounds of their abilities, I will approach the other character's player privately and discuss the situation in a calm adult manner and try to come to a resolution or compromise.(if not talk to a third party to resolve the situation like adults)

7. I will accept the hand that is dealt me in the game, understanding that it is a game and it's not about winning or losing, but about playing. (wars happen, its a brutal rp world out there)

8. I will not allow setbacks in the game to be blown out of proportion. If I am overly emotional about what is happening, I will step back and not play until I can compose myself.  (take a 20 minute break from the computer, read a book , take a walk ect)

9. I will not carry grudges against fellow players. My character might not like another character, but again, I am an adult and understand that they are 'characters' and not the player that portrays them. (they are not thier characters, holding grudges oocly because of what another players character does is not how to rp)

10. If I find that I simply can not get along with another player, I will avoid playing with them. But I will do so in a way that does not draw attention to this and I will not badmouth or otherwise slander the other player as such actions only makes myself look bad. (mute is a wonderful thing)

11. If my character is killed, I will obviously grieve for the loss, but I will also view the situation as an opportunity for me to grow as a player.

By starting anew with a fresh identity, I will be able to leave all the negatives of that character behind - any grudges, dislikes or just plain bad habits- and take away the good, thus making my next character even better and more interesting. 

(there is no perma death in sl unless the ok is given by the player but there are a million creative ways to be returned and spawns some deep rps at times, lets not cry like children)

12. I, as a player, will keep an open mind and allow people to play their characters the way their imagination leads them regardless if their interpretation matches that of some book, guideline...or creed.