character. If you met your character in real
life, would their story make you call BS, or
would you want to know them better?
III
THOU SHALT NOT BLOW SMOKE UP THINE OWN INTRO.
Player 1:
She glided into the room, her eyes, one grey
as a stormy sky, the other green as ivy
creeping up the Eastern wall of the house
her father lived in for a short time during his
time studying abroad in Europe. They shone
with secrets that had spilled from her hair.
Everyone would know she was mysterious.
Mysterious and sensual as her hips swayed
in a skirt that had been hand-sewn by blind
orphans in a monastery and sold to a clothier
who specialised in dramatic garments and
made the best grilled cheese sandwiches — Player 2:
-has died and been reborn as seven different
creatures while she has conquered the
difficult trial of walking through a doorway
Some roleplays require a certain post
length. Some players abuse it with filler.
Write more about what your character is
thinking, not about what you want others to
think of them.
IV
THOU SHALT NOT FETISHISE OTHER RACES AND CULTURES.
Especially not in public roleplays. In a
sexual context, a fetish is defined as a
“form of sexual desire in which gratification
is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, part of the
body, etc. “
When a character’s race (or the player’s
assumed stereotypes about it) eclipses their
personality or accomplishments, it is
problematic. If you want to depict
someone of a different culture or race, do
some reading. People are more sexy when
they’re people, not when they’re reduced to
skin colour or a few words in a different
language.
V
THERE BE’EST A TIME AND A PLACE FOR THINE LIBIDO.
Player 1:
-climbs in your lap and starts kissing your
neckPlayer 2:
“Really? We’re trying to disarm a bomb. Piss
off.”
There are plenty of outlets for purely
sexual roleplay. Just because you’ve dressed
your avatar in something sexy, or have come
up with a concept that will change the
definition of “nympho”, doesn’t give you
permission to lick everything you see. That’s
how diseases, (even social ones) are spread.
VI
’TIS BETTER TO ASK THAN BE BOOTED FOR AVOIDABLE IGNORANCE.
Roleplay systems can be complicated.
With T1–3 tiers, dice rules and a whole
myriad of other bits of slang, abbreviations,
rules and regulations. Places like RPedia and
other reference sites can be a good place to
start. Most tabletop games also have open
wikis and forums that welcome novices.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, politeness
usually begets politeness.
VII
THOU SHALT NOT LET YOUR PARTNER CARRY THE
STORY.
Player 1:
“O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act