The Basic, Basic Rules of Role Play

Welcome to the very basic and simple rules of role play in Beyond Ascension. We here at Beyond Ascension have a few do's and don't when it comes to Role Play. We are by no means going to tell you how you may or may not play or develop your character. However, we do wish to foster an atmosphere that encompasses a truly diverse group of role players and ensure that everyone enjoys themselves. After all, why pay for a monthly subscription if you aren't having any fun?

1. Make your character believable.

Rift gives us a fantastic world in which to play out the lives of our characters. As the lore of Telara has as many holes as a block of swiss cheese, this gives us much we can do with our characters and how they may have come to be. If you are playing an Ascended defiant and made from machines, this also adds to the many different characteristics we can give our little guys. With that being said, remember to keep it within the realm of possibility. We want no sparkling blood drinkers here, thank you very much. If you aren't sure if your character concept will fly, ask one the Council members! We'll be more than happy to go over the concept with you and let you know what we think. We will also give you tips or advice if you ask us nicely. Bribes work well. *Wink*

2. No meta-gaming. No godding/godmoding. No auto-hitting.

This is really three rules in one basically, but one of great importance. It boils down to this. You are not all powerful. You are not a god. If you are, you would single handedly kick Regulos and the Bloodstorm's ass so hard, not only would they run to the planes crying, but you'd tear a hole the fabric of time and space. Next thing you know, we'd have Klingon's invading Telara. Since you can't do that, guess what. You are not all powerful. You are not a god.

Some things should be understood, but we'll say them anyway. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES can you EVER control another player's character without their EXPRESS permission. A good example of don't/do's for this is:

"Joe hits Jane over the head with a club and drags her to his cave." - This is known as godmoding and auto-hitting. How it *should* be is:

"Joe attempts to hit Jane over the head with a club." - This gives Jane a chance to say if her character will take the hit over the head or not. Let's say that she does:

"Jane gets knocked unconcious by Joe nearly clubbing her to death." - Now, Joe can continue on:

"Joe looks down at Jane's body and grins widely. He bends down, picks up her arms, and begins to drag her towards his cave."

And remember, we want to keep all of this within the realm of possibility. If you're playing a caster, most likely, your little cloth robe isn't going to do much to protect you from a dagger being thrust into your heart. If you play a fighter, you may be good with daggers, but if you get hit with a fireball, you will burn. Your skin isn't made out of flame retardant materials you know.

Also, if you're role playing a duel or a fight, don't dodge everything. You may be great at rolling around or jumping out of the way, but you aren't Chuck Norris. And honestly, even he took a punch now and then.

3. Keep IC/OOC separate.

This one is important enough that it's highlighted in red. IC = In character and OOC = Out of Character. These are two separate entities and they should be kept that way. AT ALL TIMES!While a character may be a complete asshole to you while you are role playing, that doesn't mean that the player is. That is just their character's personality. If you aren't sure whether the player is attacking you personally or not, ASK! Never assume. Just ask. If you don't want to ask them, ask Shyn to help you out. That's what she's there for after all.

Also, while you, the player, may know that John-character is going to try to assassinate Jill-character tonight, that doesn't mean that your character, Walter, knows it. As far as the role play is concerned, Walter is blissfully unaware that his wife, Jill, may die tonight. This is actually another form of metagaming and a big NO-NO.

4. Using NPC's.

Using NPC's is fine for your character development and personal storyline. Just don't go crazy with it. For instance, talking to the bartender and ordering a drink is perfectly fine. However, going up to Asha Catari and role playing that she is your best friend and she's giving you hugs before kissing your feet, is not. While some stories may need to involve this or that faction, we do wish to keep that faction's involvement to a minimum when possible. If you have a question about this or using a NPC, just ask a Councillor. We'll be more than happy to help you out.

5. Have fun with it!

Seriously, don't stress about things in the game. It's a GAME that you PAY to play. If it's not fun, then what's the point? So go have fun!

6 - The "LOOK AT ME" disease.

This is a dreadful disease that afflicts many and... "They don't even know they're afflicted!" It's a sad but very real fact in any role playing community.

We all love to get our little guys/gals attention as well as get them into the spotlight even if they fight us tooth and nail. One thing we must keep in mind is that there are many, many others out there who wish the same thing. So, look around your fellow guildmates and use something called common sense. If you see a character getting a lot of attention because they've suddenly gone insane, don't jump in and say that you are insane as well. If you planned on your character going completely wacko, but someone else is currently getting helped, wait a bit, bring it out only in degrees at first and when the other character is out of trouble, then let your own character go as batty as you want.

We want all our players to get the spotlight, just remember to wait your turn. If you feel like someone in particular is getting the light shined on them more than anyone else, then please, bring that to the attention of a councillor and we will take care of it.