Written by Calista of ImagineChat. The original document can be viewed here: http://www.imaginechat.com/creed.html


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 ICQ 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


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Found this while looking around for examples of freeform RPGs being run on forums. Thought people might like to give it a read, it's pretty well written and a good reminder.

~SE++

#5 seems kind of moralistic. I think "not overstepping the boundaries of other players" is a better case for not bringing such things into roleplaying than "this is wrong and must be banned forever from everything."

Yes and no, it was taken from another forum's page (see the link), so perhaps it's partly about not crossing CoC's as well. Still, I think you get the point.

~SE++

Sorry, no can do. WoD's tangents was one of the primary reasons the sessions were enjoyable, not including the religious discussion between two individuals that took up nearly all the playing time that one session.

Depends if metagaming it results in a better story or not.

Technically, the character is an aspect of me, but whatever. I wish I was better at this.

Irrelevant. I always show up and try to contribute whenever possible.

I don't even know how I could.

You're not a proper nerd if you don't solve every problem through passive aggressive remarks throughout the entire session.

No, I don't. If you forced me to roll stats and mine are half of the other's average, then by damn I'm going to complain. I'm not going to be a wet towel for the entire campaign.
Also, all my games are about losing, but that's besides the point.

It's difficult to be rational about something when you're overly emotional.

Blatantly incorrect, and is in contradiction with point 5.

There aren't that many groups to choose from where I play.

As if grudges are a negative.

No, if you want to play Naruto, then play somewhere else.

I'm not sure why I did this.

I'm gonna go with boredom.

~SE++

I'd wager it's a compulsion to disagree.

I started to read this, read number one, and was instantly displeased. Really? Sitting around the table goofing off with your friends is half the fun of RPGs

Again, I believe it was more meant for IC threads of a forum played RPG.

~SE++

It appears more to be a chat based thing based on that line actually.