Hydaelyn Role-Players

I have read through the RP handbook, and I obviously think certain groups have their own set of rules but what are the general rules that pretty much all RPers will follow? 

I got to thinking about this when I read in the handbook about RPing as a murderer and people not liking when their character is killed, well if the murderer or anything like that say a rapist. Comes up to a PC and says, "X rapes X", or "X kills X" with no agreement of the RPer  being affected, is that character now terminated? can they no longer RP that character? Or is it generally accepted that something like that is bullshit and shouldn't count? 

Other things like swearing, how much is acceptable? Are any words basically forbidden? That kind of thing.

Is thievery even a thing? Walking up and saying "X steals X shirt." do they literally have to take said shirt off? 

I'm still new to RP and I wouldn't want to, do something that is generally looked down upon in the community because I'm just starting to really get into different plots and meet friends, alienation would be a bitch tbh. 

I'd just like to know peoples opinions on this, are there "unspoken" rules of RP that everybody is generally asked to follow? Is it a free-for-all until you get in with a group of people? Thanks in advance for any replies!

-EDIT-

More rules I just thought up, things like coffee, or chocolate, if they are mentioned in the game then cool beans but what about things that aren't mentioned? Like eating Sherbet Lemons, just a sweet but is it weird to have them in the game?

Character capabilities? I understand you can't god-mod but what about smaller scale abilities? Stupid things like breaking walls with your fist or whatever is that seen as kinda stupid?

"Or is it generally accepted that something like that is bullshit and shouldn't count?"

This is about correct, most people will either ignore or blacklist such a player because it seems like a shitty troll and not a roleplayer. Same for your example of "X steals Y's Z" because Y doesn't have any real chance to respond to Z.

There was a thread a while back in here about swearing; different people seem to have a different level of tolerance for it. As a general rule you should try to make clear your character is swearing or swearing at other characters, not players.

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]Stupid things like breaking walls with your fist or whatever is that seen as kinda stupid?

Breaking walls with your fists is forbidden.

The rules clearly state that you must burst through the wall with your whole body and utter the phrase, "Oh YEAH!"

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]I got to thinking about this when I read in the handbook about RPing as a murderer and people not liking when their character is killed, well if the murderer or anything like that say a rapist. Comes up to a PC and says, "X rapes X", or "X kills X" with no agreement of the RPer  being affected, is that character now terminated? can they no longer RP that character? Or is it generally accepted that something like that is bullshit and shouldn't count?

Last one. Mostly. It's not a rule so much as it is a general consensus (unless you want to treat it like a rule), but there is nothing that can ever happen to your character unless YOU agree to it. It's your character. Nobody else's. If someone walks up and straight up kills your character, you can just ignore them. Unless for some reason you're cool with that.

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]Other things like swearing, how much is acceptable? Are any words basically forbidden? That kind of thing.

I figure this will vary from group to group. It's not a universal rule that you can't swear, but just like if you're hanging out with a new group of people in real life, don't go slinging around racial slurs at the top of your lungs before you get a feel for what that group is and isn't comfortable with. Common sense, basically.

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]Is thievery even a thing? Walking up and saying "X steals X shirt." do they literally have to take said shirt off? 

Same as the first question. Not unless you agree to it. If I were to try to steal from someone, I would probably either ask them if it's alright beforehand, or emote "bumping into the character" and THEN asking if it's alright if my character took something from theirs.

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]I'm still new to RP and I wouldn't want to, do something that is generally looked down upon in the community because I'm just starting to really get into different plots and meet friends, alienation would be a bitch tbh. 

S'all good. This stuff can be pretty daunting. Just don't get discouraged if you don't get any bites per se immediately. Watch some other people in a tavern. See how they do it. Take notes. Copy 'em. You'll figure it out soon enough.

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]I'd just like to know peoples opinions on this, are there "unspoken" rules of RP that everybody is generally asked to follow? Is it a free-for-all until you get in with a group of people? Thanks in advance for any replies!

Uhhhm... I guess the first thing that comes to mind is not to "godmod". That is, don't make your character invincible, undying, or unbeatable. This would be a characterwho is better than everyone else and cannot be killed or harmed. I've known many people that have eventually become isolated through this; nobody wants to roleplay with someone who believes that their character is better than everyone else's. EDIT: I skipped over the word "unspoken" in your question, so I guess this is a bad answer. To be honest, I'm not sure. I'd have to think about it. Really any rules that come to mind are pretty well-spoken in my experience.

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]More rules I just thought up, things like coffee, or chocolate, if they are mentioned in the game then cool beans but what about things that aren't mentioned? Like eating Sherbet Lemons, just a sweet but is it weird to have them in the game?

I mean... personally, I'd just go out and reference that kind of stuff anyway. To me that's just details. I don't think anybody's going to get on your case because you named some dessert that doesn't exist. It's not some incredibly lore-breaking inconsistency that breaks the world as we know it. If you're a little paranoid, though, google it. See if you can find the food as a crafted item or something. If not, either pick something else, or don't sweat it.

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)Ritual Wrote: [ -> ]Character capabilities? I understand you can't god-mod but what about smaller scale abilities? Stupid things like breaking walls with your fist or whatever is that seen as kinda stupid?

Unless your character has a solid, believable and agreeable reason to be doing those kinds of things (which they probably don't), I would avoid it. People tend to turn their noses up at characters who are super angsty badasses that can lift a house over their head and run at a hundred miles an hour. Unless you happen to be roleplaying in a universe where that kind of thing is common-place, like a superhero MMO.

I think it's safe to say that most people draw the line when another RPer takes control over their character against their will. So your example of shanking another character or stealing their shirt off their back are actions made without that other player's consent, and it's generally frowned upon and ultimately goes ignored. Because every RPer has the right to write their own story without fear of getting Assassin's Creed-ed out of nowhere by some random person. But most are willing to go with these sorts of things provided you talk it over with them first OOC.


As for swearing, there was a thread somewhere around here about it. Everyone has a different tolerance for swearing. In my own personal opinion on the matter, I think swearing as a character choice is more than acceptable. But excessive cursing for the sake of cursing, is disrespectful. Not to mention against the game's TOS. Rule of thumb, be courteous to those around you. Go with the amount you feel is appropriate for your character and if someone asks you to dial it back, you can do so. On a similar note, there are severaaaal lore-appropriate curse words/phrases that you can choose from to help flavor up your string of curses.


Most real world food items actually have some kind of equivalent in game. So be sure to check out the market wards. I know some people do bring in some real world objects into their RP. That's more of a player-specific choice though. I like to play pretty close to lore, so I don't usually bring real world objects like potatoes into RP, instead I would use the in-game equivalent, popotos. But to each their own.

Rules vary from group to group, and person to person. What goes well with one group/person won't always go over well with others. Communication and knowing your environment are key.

Quote:Is thievery even a thing? Walking up and saying "X steals X shirt." do they literally have to take said shirt off? 

The group I RP with mostly, I'm pretty much free to pickpocket from them whenever I feel the want to. They're also just as free to catch me whenever they want. Would I freely pickpocket another player that I randomly encounter? Not without asking OOCly first, and I keep it simple.

/t [[Hey, are you okay with me picking your pocket?]]

If they say no, I don't do it. If they say yes, I let them decide if they catch me in the act, and if I'm not caught they decide what I get away with. 

But running up and just ganking someone's shirt, shoes, and wallet? Nah, that's not going to fly with most people.

Quote:I got to thinking about this when I read in the handbook about RPing as a murderer and people not liking when their character is killed, well if the murderer or anything like that say a rapist. Comes up to a PC and says, "X rapes X", or "X kills X" with no agreement of the RPer  being affected, is that character now terminated? can they no longer RP that character? Or is it generally accepted that something like that is bullshit and shouldn't count? 

Murder and rape... if you're dead-set on being a murderer or a rapist, it's best that you keep such actions targeted on NPC's you made up. Murder, because (realistically) you're forcing another character out of RP. Rape because... it's messy and hits a LOT of really touchy subjects, both ICly and OOCly. Not to say that I haven't seen both happen (murder in the case of one character was doing a perma-retire... the rape one, it was coordinated with OOC volunteering on victim's parts, and did have a storyline purpose), they just require a LOT of OOC discussion and, again, can turn messy very quickly.

That being said... I still highly advise against having a character along those lines.

In the case of someone just randomly walking up to you and emoting that they kill/rape your character... just ignore it. It's probably someone trolling.

Quote:Other things like swearing, how much is acceptable? Are any words basically forbidden? That kind of thing.

Swearing... It happens. It's against the ToS, but it happens. I had questions about it myself, and my take from the discussion was that most people agree that when you hit the point where you're being excessive for no reason other to be excessive, you're crossing a line.

Quote:More rules I just thought up, things like coffee, or chocolate, if they are mentioned in the game then cool beans but what about things that aren't mentioned? Like eating Sherbet Lemons, just a sweet but is it weird to have them in the game? 

There is chocolate (made from kuruku beans, which are basically just renamed cocoa pods). The Valentine's/Valentione's event was based on trading chocolates.

Coffee... well, it seems there WERE coffee beans in the game at one point, but have since been removed. A purist could probably argue that if the item doesn't exist/isn't referenced in the game, it doesn't exist at all. I say that coffee is a common enough drink and various real-life cultures created coffee-like drinks from various sources (beans, bark, seeds, etc), so I don't see a problem emoting that you've gone and got yourself a cup of coffee. 

And I don't think there'd be a problem with sherbet either; all you need to make that is sugar, cream, and whatever fruit juice you want to use, toss that in a can/jar that you can seal up, then put that in a larger can/jar that's full of ice and rock salt (or ice shards, I suppose), then take twenty minutes rolling that back and forth across the floor. Utterly do-able in the context of the game... but, again, a purist might argue against it.

I personally go on the idea that, if I can find the ingredients in-game and the "tech" to make such a food is reasonably around/suits the setting and time period, it's fair game. 

Quote:Character capabilities? I understand you can't god-mod but what about smaller scale abilities? Stupid things like breaking walls with your fist or whatever is that seen as kinda stupid?

I'd OOCly roll my eyes at breaking a wall with one's fist (unless it was a paper wall, or a thin drywall-equivalent one). A stone wall... I'd argue that only a Monk has a chance of doing that. I tend to like a bit of realism in stuff like that, but that can change from group to group.

I take rape pretty seriously, anyone says they rape my character without my permission is going to get an earful, a report, and a blacklist. Period.

Other than that, don't Godmod, let people react to what you want to do, if they want to get beat up or whatever they'll let you beat them, you don't gotta force it on them

I just felt like posting a quick message, I'm not planning on killing anyone nor am I going to rape anyone, whilst I'm not too bothered about killing as it depends on the victim for me, however I find rape deplorable and disgusting whoever the victim may be. Anyway thank you all for your replies, .

To chime in a little on this without repeating too much of what has already been said, what I find a decent amount of RPers fall victim to is being scared of letting bad things happen to their character. 

I mean you are in control of your character, but you cannot always win. Your plans cannot always work and you cannot get all the ladies/men because you are the most perfect person ever. Write your characters with some weakness, being emotional, physical or both. Make them more believable and make them feel alive. Allow them to fail and lose. Drama is a very very good way of having your character grow up. 

When it comes to combat the rule I sort of follow is keeping it in the realm of possibility while still letting the fantasy world take over. Like could a Lalafell really have enough muscle strength to break through a stone wall? Probably not. But say he had to throw his/her shield at someone, I dont think that is logical or very practical in the real world, but I see it as being completely viable in the world of fantasy.

^ Some people roll dice to determine everything in a battle, which still gives them control but also makes it random enough to never be able to determine the outcome. One person I RP with rolls for everything and its SO SCARY. I'm like "Noooo don't die" all the time XD

(04-29-2014, 12:15 AM)undefined Wrote: [ -> ]More rules I just thought up, things like coffee, or chocolate, if they are mentioned in the game then cool beans but what about things that aren't mentioned? Like eating Sherbet Lemons, just a sweet but is it weird to have them in the game?

When it comes to using your creative imagination, the lore is the boundaries that you have to operate within (except! if you are with a group who does not abide by lore, but that's it's own can of worms) and seeing as there is no way the lore-developers could ever answer -all- of the questions we raise as roleplayers, such as "does actual cats actually exist?" & "How does magnets work. Wait, do we have magnets?" - the general consensus is that you do not invent things that are world changing and would, in essence, force aforementioned developers to notice your idea and write it in. As an example, if a fantasy universe doesn't have any matter of flying technology, such as airships or be-winged lions, stating that your character owns an airship (or a be-winged lion) would be world-changing - it opens up to faster travel, air warfare and a plethora of other things. 
The same thing could be said about inventing a new type of magic, or even a villan that is so evil there's no way the major factions wouldn't have noticed him/her/it.

Assuming that the world has strawberries without actually having seen a strawberry plant or item in the world is something I wouldn't consider to be something that is world-changing or far fetched, especially if there's climates around where strawberries would grow as we know them to. Sometimes, it can help to give such things other names so that they don't remind of our world but falls in more with the world we're rping in. Say I was roleplaying a cook, I'd probably not serve pizza to my guests, rather I'd give an elaborate description or name it something like.. "garnished roundbread" or some such. 

As for everything else.. Try to apply common sense and get as much knowledge about the world as you can. There are unspoken rules, and they will variate depend on which end of the pool your chosen RP group is in, usually speaking you'll notice them as you toddle along. Some of the unspoken rules in my group is to keep mature-themed RP away from the masses (So, in a desolate area or party-chat), so that one doesn't elaborately describe the beheading of someone in front of a lot of potentially young and/or squeamish people. 

With time you'll have them all down, and they'll become things you don't actively have to keep in mind but are more a second-to-nature thing.

(04-29-2014, 05:49 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: [ -> ]^ Some people roll dice to determine everything in a battle, which still gives them control but also makes it random enough to never be able to determine the outcome. One person I RP with rolls for everything and its SO SCARY. I'm like "Noooo don't die" all the time XD

Not me but rolling for actions really gives some control but it also is just completely random.

You'd think at least 2 Sultansworn could actually do something about a Garlean in Ul'dah but nope. One gets blinded by wine and the other gets... tripped or something. Need. Better. Training?? Bumbling fools almost /cry

On the real world flora/fauna: just use common sense and most people will roll with it. I once had a random player argue with me over whether or not skunks exist in Eorzea. Their reasoning? Because we don't fight any as mobs in the game. I'm pretty sure the conversation made me lose a couple of brain cells. (A similar one came up about chickens, despite there being Chicken Eggs in the game! This was before the Gilgamesh fight came out.)

I'd say that unless there is a clear Eorzean equivalent (potato/popoto) you can probably assume that any plant/animal on Earth exists in some form in the game as climate/environment allows.

(04-29-2014, 01:05 AM)Edgar Wrote: [ -> ]Breaking walls with your fists is forbidden.

The rules clearly state that you must burst through the wall with your whole body and utter the phrase, "Oh YEAH!"

I giggled.

(04-29-2014, 04:52 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: [ -> ]I take rape pretty seriously, anyone says they rape my character without my permission is going to get an earful, a report, and a blacklist. Period.

Other than that, don't Godmod, let people react to what you want to do, if they want to get beat up or whatever they'll let you beat them, you don't gotta force it on them

Pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter.

(04-29-2014, 04:52 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: [ -> ]I take rape pretty seriously, anyone says they rape my character without my permission is going to get an earful, a report, and a blacklist. Period.

HIDE YO' MIQO'TE, HIDE YO' HYUUUURS, 'cause they rapin' errybody.

(Sorry, had to.)