1. Know your character - If you haven’t already, think about who your character is, where did they come from, what is their back story, How did they become what they are.  If you are going to role play being a demon research it, learn about the different types of demons, were you spawned? Where you one of the original fallen?, where you an angel and the more you walked among humans did you become corrupt? Did another demon corrupt you? Or if you’re going to be a vampire, how did you receive your gift? What type of vampire are you? What family line of vampire are you? Were you born from a vampire? (If you were then you are damphir alive with vampire abilities).  Below you will find a character make up sheet, use it to help guide the development of your character.  Keep your story consistent; just like RL we are shaped by those we come in contact with, the same can be said about your character. Most of all NO ONE IS A GOD. It is not fun to role play with a character that nothing can happen to them your character WILL have weaknesses.

2. Stay In character - every time you log into second life you are awakening your character to move about and further their story.  It is like each time you open a book and read, the only difference is that here YOU are the author.  YOU choose the direction your character will take as they move among others.  Once you step foot in the realm where you play you are now the author and another adventure begins. If you must say something that your character would not, be sure you use the brackets this helps you and the people you are role-playing with.

For example your character would not talk about needing to get their car fixed, answer the door in RL, I can think of many more examples but I believe everyone understands the meaning.

Emotes are commonly used when role-playing.  Most tend to speak in the third person, like one would see in a book. Instead of saying “I would” you would say “She would.” There is a switch within SL that will cause your statements to be your name for example. /me looks about the crowded room to find a seat., will actually look like this. Leigh Huet looks about the crowded room to find a seat. Using emotes also helps you to remember this is your character and not you personally. When your character speaks use quotes for example. /me walks into the room to find an empty seat, finally locating one she sits, she nods to the bartender indicating she would like to order and says, “Blood wine please.” then waits for her order to be filled. There is no one way to define the difference between action and speech, just remember to find what works for you to help your fellow players know the difference between when you SAY something and when you are describing an action or thinking. Remember the more information you give them the more they have to go on.

3. Proper language - When Role-playing use proper language Txt speak LOL, OMG, ROFL, WTF, WTH, etc or emoticons :), :D, :P,..etc….all of these have their appropriate places, IM’s, yahoo, MSN, text messaging for example, but not in a role play environment.  Your character would not “say” LOL they would laugh, chuckle, bust out laughing. Your fellow role-players need to KNOW what type of laughing are you doing….are you laughing in sarcasm? are you laughing with them?…help your fellow players know what it is your character is feeling for only you know and gives them an opportunity to respond.

4. Think Statements - there are times that these are useful and times they are just rude. It adds tension where there should not be and can hide veiled OOC insults

poor example:  sits watching those around her and thinks they need a bath

good example: sits watching those around her and thinks they need a bath and says, “ya’ll stink find a bath”

poor example: wonders if he is the father

good example wonders if he is the father and says, “might want to check to see where your wife has been these days.”

in the example below there is an action that one can respond and work with to bring out what they were thinking, but if the person dances around it best to let it be for they will never “say” what they were thinking to begin with.  Remember we are all here to have fun, if it isn’t fun to you it isn’t fun to your fellow role players

good example: smirks at his comment wondering if he can ever tell the truth…
reply: sees the smirk and says, “you question my sincerity?”

5. Role-play Limits - this is something that is difficult for all of us, but keep one thing in mind….”Limiting your role play only limits what can happen to your character.”  Keep in mind your character is not you, but there are things that can happen you personally cannot handle role-playing.  This is the reason for limits, it is that line that you just can’t see yourself crossing for example:  Not everyone is a homosexual so may find they just cannot role play a scene with the same sex be it a rape scene or even consensual.  Dark role play is just that….dark if you find yourself in a realm that has dark role play don’t be afraid to experiment it is not you this is happening to but your character.  BUT, yes that word is always there and in this case a big one, when you find that you have hit the line…….that brick wall you just can’t wrap your mind around it, you the person have hit that line that you just can’t cross, don’t be afraid to let the person you are RPing with know.  This is where your limit is and why we have them.

Respect your fellow RPers limits. Just because it is fun or challenging for you does not mean it is fun or challenging for them.  If one should say “I am sorry that is just a line I cannot cross.” be an adult respect their wish and decide upon a different course of action. And most of all, IF YOU DON’T WANT IT DONE TO YOU DON’T DO IT TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!

6. OOC - When any player goes OOC or out of character it interrupts the flow of role play.  There are times that we all need to step away from the computer and let our fellow players know, that is just being courteous, however, if you have a dispute, question, a misunderstanding, instead of interrupting the role play that is going on around you speak with the person privately in IM…all that is necessary in general is to say, ((Please pause RP one moment)) then discuss the issue.  We are all adults and at times have read or misunderstood the intent of a statement or find the direction of the role play is bothering you personally and would like to see it go another direction.  Give your fellow players a chance and let them know instead of getting upset.

7.  Metagaming - use of information gathered from profiles, forums, meters, or alts (unless they use a tag that may describe something you would see or smell since it is not possible in this environment.)

example Meter: Demonic Guild Leader

Bad example:

player A:  walks up to the woman and smells brimstone, “bah, demons, never had much use for those.”

good example

playerA: walks up and sees the person laying on the hammock she had a sense about her that made her uncomfortable and sat “greetings”
playerB: sees the person noticing the tension in her muscles but ignores it “greetings”……

this gives you a chance to find out more about them and encourages more role play.  Not everyone goes just by what their meter is. Some are hybrids, a combination, it is up to you to find out through talking with them what they are, not to mention the challenge, for not everyone will tell you right away, use the opportunities

There are descriptive tags that some role-players use, they will describe their condition, for example, “clothes disheveled and muddy, blood dripping from their temple”

Leigh walks up and sees Andee her eyes open wide seeing the blood coming from her temple…”what happened to you?!?”

8.  Godmodding - there are several examples of godmodding that most are already familiar with and there are some that most don’t think about.  Main thing to remember always, you cannot DO something or FORCE them and expect them to accept it, you can ATTEMPT to do something which gives them an option to accept it or not.

Bad example.: Leigh throws a banana pie towards Andee and watches as it arches through the air and lands flat in her face covering her completely…

good example: Leigh throws a banana pie towards Andee watching it arch through the air and waits in anticipation…

You will find that if given the opportunity those that truly wish to role play and enjoy it will give you a better response and role play with you more, if you let their character respond and react on their own. You do not know how everyone will react when you make a movement in RL same applies here.

9.  Alts - Each character is unique and should be treated that way, what one character knows your other character would not know.  Outing an alt IS against linden labs terms of service for it is giving out personal information about another payer.  People have become relaxed about this because some have chosen not to care if others know about their alts. But for some, they use the alts to develop totally separate characters…and if you decide to figure out who it is behind the keyboard or think you know who it is, then spread it around, you have ruined it for that player any chance to possibly explore a different avenue that their main would not do.  For example, a person may have a character that is an elf and also have a demon.  Respect your fellow players and give them the opportunity to explore.

10. Gestures - Gestures are always questionable in their use in role plays.  If your character is a cat a gesture of purring, meowing, hissing, this is something you would expect.  If your character is a demon the use of a demonic laugh would be appropriate but if the text comes up LOL then you might want to edit that gesture so that it says “laughs evilly.” Before you use the trigger for a gesture always keep in mind…”is this something my CHARACTER would do?” and answer that question honestly. If the answer is no then save them for the clubs.

The main thing in all of this is to have fun. That is what all of this leads to and why we come back each day.  If you follow these guidelines drama, OOC issues, and misunderstandings can and will be avoided.  If a mutual understanding can not be found between two players, please be sure to contact senior players, admin, general managers of the realm in which you are role-playing in.  That is why they are there to help you.

(These Commandments have been a collaberative effort from me and the many RPers that I have come to respect, I hope you find them helpful.)

Thank you, Leigh Huet